Jesse W. Blenn

Alabama, USA

 

Tel: +1 334 8976132

 

E-mail: jesseblenn@gmail.com    

 

Airship Design Consultant

(Se habla Espaňol)

 

Jesse Blenn is an experienced auto, industrial, and aircraft mechanic, with a special interest in how and why machines work, and how they can be improved.  He currently restores small airplanes, and has investigated the technology of airships for the past fifteen years.  Airships are lacking practicality in many areas, and Jesse can help solve these issues from early on in the design process.  He also has experience with patent search and application, the metric system, drafting, and is fully bilingual English/Spanish, having lived five years in Latin America.

 

Past/present member of the Airship Association, LTA Society, LTA Institute, Association of Balloon and Airship Constructors, Naval Airship Association, AIAA, and Experimental Aircraft Association.

 

Studies have included:

 

·       Investigation of the feasibility of airship logging of mahogany forests in Costa Rica. (Portico, S. A. 1987)

 

·       In-depth study of an entry-level advertising airship (3-seat, 36 meter) with minimal operating costs (1995-2000).

 

·       Preliminary studies of 50-ton cargo capacity (180 meter) cargo airships for South America (2001)

 

Papers prepared by Jesse include A New Look at Semi-Rigid Airship Construction, presented at the 1992 Weeksville symposium, and the publication of The Airship Homebuilder 1993-1995, a bulletin putting airship design into simple understandable language and formulas.  Since 1996, Jesse has been President and Technical Director of UPship Corporation, with the goal of developing practical airships.  The design approaches developed, including major innovations, can help make airships a viable transport means for cargo, passenger, tourism, and scientific missions, especially in developing countries.  For these areas, a discounted rate is available.