The World Sky Race

Very few things are more iconic to Steampunk than airships. Zeppelins, dirigibles, blimps, balloons, etc. are part and parcel to getting around in our neo-Victorian worlds. Unfortunately, in our own world, airships have fared poorly over the last 75 years. Sadly, if you see a blimp today, it probably just means there is a football game that day.

Don Hartsell, Texas resident and aircraft enthusiast, wants to change that by organizing the World Sky Race, an 18 leg around-the-world airship race. The race would kick off in London, go past over 100 UNESCO cultural sites, and be visible to over 140 million people. For comparison, only about 5 million people were able to witness the London Olympic games first hand.

Is this all just a pipe dream? I certainly hope not. Hartsell believes there are over 30 privately owned airships in the world and hopes to get at least 5 of them to join the inaugural race in 2014. The $50 million cost of the race would be covered by sponsorships and donations.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope it happens and passed our way when it does.