Floating alternative to winter roads

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Airship manufacturers have already held meetings with provincial government representatives. (SAIC SKYBUS / HANDOUT PHOTO)

The answer to the annual uncertainty of Manitoba's winter road system could be floating in the sky.

Hybrid airships, souped-up Zeppelins that could act as transports to remote northern communities, suddenly seem more attractive these days.

The U.S. military has signed a multimillion-dollar contract to fly the vessels in Afghanistan. Airship firms have had two meetings in Winnipeg, with more visits being scheduled. And Manitobans are definitely interested in hearing about any alternative to paying the $2 billion proposed for building an all-season road system to northern Manitoban communities.

Barry Prentice, a University of Manitoba professor who has long been a champion of the airship, says for the price of building a few bridges on these proposed fixed roads, governments could help finance transport airships that could be used year-round.

The life of the soft infrastructure of Manitoba's 2,200-kilometre winter road network falls around six to eight weeks. That short season -- the only time when trucks can ship in larger quantities of things like food, medical supplies and building materials -- is pushing the conversation for the need of permanent roads, but the numbers for such an endeavour are lofty.

The province has committed $75 million for the next 15 years to build a permanent network east of Lake Winnipeg, with an estimated total price tag at over $2 billion. A road to Island Lake (a region of 10,000 people 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg) is estimated at $1.4 billion.

Those figures make the airship an intriguing northern alternative.

Measuring the length of a football field and standing up to seven storeys tall, the modern airship could transport large quantities of goods that would allow communities to thrive, Prentice believes. He says regular delivery of construction materials would allow projects to be built quickly (not over two summers) and an increased volume of supplies would eventually drive the cost down for the intended consumer.

"Trucks are a lot cheaper, but if you don't have the road then what do you have?" asks Prentice, who specializes in supply-chain management at the U of M. "What do we have to lose by trying this?"

A lot, especially if your company ships goods up to northern Manitoba during the winter road season. Initial capital costs for a venture like this can rise into the tens of millions, and without a definitive commercial model to draw from, private-sector investment remains quiet.

As one manufacturer suggested, there's a misconception about airship safety out there -- one the industry will need to fight through.

But before Led Zeppelin album covers cloud your mind, consider the developments down south. The U.S. navy has been using airships since 2006 and this past summer, the U.S. army awarded a $517-million contract to Northrop Grumman to build surveillance ships for use on the front lines as early as next year.

The LEMV (long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle) is designed to reach altitudes of 20,000 feet and be able to stay in the sky for three weeks at a time. More importantly, Prentice notes, the research and development of airships is being handled by the U.S. military.

Much like the armed forces assumed all the risk in developing the jet engine for the Second World War, the same is being done now with regards to airships.

"Once people see these things in the sky next summer, I feel it will really open up some eyes," said Prentice. "It'll be like wind turbines. Wind turbines had a hard time coming back but once (Denmark) took the bit in their teeth, now they are everywhere."

John Spacek, assistant deputy minister with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, is keeping a close eye on hybrid airship developments. The province has met with manufacturer representatives and has even helped fund demonstrations (a 2008 demo never got off the ground due to the absence of a giant hangar to set up the airship for flight), but the government has no plans to grant more than a courtesy look at this time.

"We're at that pre-commercialization era for hybrid airships, between the military and the public sector," said Spacek, noting the government is a transport facilitator, not a shipping company.

"We have an open mind; we just haven't seen a business case from anybody involved yet."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 10, 2010 A12