Airship

Also known as blimps, zeppelin, and ethercraft, airships are arguably the most prominent symbol of the modern era. The airship is a lighter-than-air vehicle held aloft by a large, gas filled enclosure called an envelope. The airship is then propelled by a variety of methods, ranging from the common propeller-and-rudder arrangement to more extravagant modes such as sails, venting gas jets, and even being pulled by large flying creatures. No other form of aircraft enjoys the breadth of uses as today's airship.
== History ==
Early airships were of limited size and utility. Rarely larger than 20 meters long, they were limited to but one or two passengers and were notoriously difficult to control. The greatest complaints from pilots were that the airship were either very slow and unresponsive, or that they went fast enough as to be uncontrollable. Aircraft accidents were frequent, though casualties were minimal. Despite their ease of construction, the airship fell out of favor with both Industry and Pilots, slowly becoming associated with Fantasists and Eccentric hobbyists.
In back pastures, spare hangars, and on high rooftops, these amateur aeronauts and inventors abandoned the long established control mechanisms borrowed from both fixed and rotary airfoil craft. Starting from square one, they developed a vast array of designs, propulsion, lift and control system, some of which proved more successful than others. This legacy of trial-and-error seat-of-your-pants research added greatly to our understanding of physics, engineering, and medicine.
Soon, with the support of open-minded financiers, many of these inventors were able to make the jump from designing ambitious prototypes to full-scale industrial production. In less than a year after the first full scale factories were built, the discovery of Cavorite jumpstarted the industry, allowing for smaller craft to provide greater lift. Soon, massive skyliners could be found dotting the skies as wealthy investors moved their massive estates upward.
Since then, the Airship has remained a powerful and influential symbol of not only commerce and industry, but the incorrigible tenacity of the inventor.