Originally Posted by
dieuwer2
Of course we could reintroduce Zeppelins as means of transport whereby the shell of the "balloon" is composed of solar fabric. The helium would provide the lift while the electricity from the solar fabric would power the propeller.
Believe it or not, the Department of Defense (could have been from DARPA) had investigated the possibility of using an airship with this giant, rectangular solar panel on top. I don't recall if it was manned or unmanned and whether or not it ever left the drawing board, but interesting concept nonetheless.
Do a quick Google search for "DARPA solar airship" to see what I'm talking about.