The latest generation of zeppelins, the Zeppelin NT, take off daily between mid-March and mid-November from the edge of Friedrichshafen Airport for sightseeing flights over Lake Constance.
The third generation airships received their certification in April 2001. They use incombustible helium as the lifting gas – in contrast to hydrogen, which was used in the LZ129 “Hindenburg” which crashed in 1937.
Two swiveling propellers on the left and right and one more in the rear enable precise landing and vertical take-off and give the 75 meter long zeppelin a high degree of manoeuvrability.
The passenger gondola offers space for 14 passengers. Two passengers always board and disembark in pairs, so that the weight of the hovering airship hardly changes. Everyone is allowed to have a window seat.
Within a few minutes, the zeppelin reached its flight altitude with the help of the engines. Via Friedrichshafen with its world-famous Zeppelin Museum in the old train station directly on the lake shore, you reach Lake Constance, which is more than 500 square kilometers in size.
At the cruising altitude of 300 meters, the passengers let loose, can move freely through the cabin and enjoy the view through the large panoramic windows.
The zeppelin hovers almost silently over the landscape at a top speed of 125 kilometers per hour.
It is perhaps the most beautiful way of flying. Because the Zeppelin NT flies low, slowly, quietly, economically and persistently – the airship can theoretically stay in the air for up to 22 hours, even for scientific measurements.
The scenic flights over part of Lake Constance only last between 30 and 120 minutes, and prices start at 255 euros per person.
The runway at Friedrichshafen Airport takes you back to the starting point in front of the hangar gates.
The Zeppelin also flies in the Rhineland and in the greater Munich area on certain dates.
More info at www.zeppelinflug.de