The concept's designer, Reindy Allendra, imagines the aircraft being constructed from material similar to the giant Airbus A380's GLARE composite: Glass-Reinforced Fiber Metal Laminate made of thin layers of metal and glass fiber.

The WB-1010 would supplement its fuel use with the ability to harvest wind energy into electricity. An extractable robotic stand would also be used during the craft's vertical landings.

Totally pie in the sky stuff, but very cool. Zoom in on the pic above for specifics. I wonder if United will actually have in-flight Wi-Fi on more than 13 planes 85 years from now? [Reindy Allendra via Yanko Design]

It's believed that the inmate (of the Salto del Negro prison on the Canary Island of Las Palmas) was to scale the prison wall and speed off in a waiting car.

The arrested men had setup an elaborate surveillance operation of the prison that involved a camouflaged tent, powerful binoculars, telephoto lenses, and motion detection sensors. But authorities caught wind of the plan when they intercepted the inflatable zeppelin as it arrived from the Italian town of Bergamo.

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Holy crap, I almost wish they got away with it. [Telegraph]

The helium airship, named for the Greek god of the wind, is only in the concept stage for now. But it looks like something out of Dinotopia, and the goofy vertical design is surprisingly cool.

[Treehugger]

Most experts say that the dirigibles will likely remain a niche vessel. The flying machines can only reach top speeds of around 100 miles an hour, fly in fair to good weather, and hold a maximum capacity of several dozen passengers. Not to mention, each one is still about the size of a football field. But at least now, thanks to improvements in materials and safety standards, passengers won't have to worry about being trapped in another Hindenburg. [New York Times]

The new Zeppelin NT—yes, capital Z because it's made by the Zeppelin company—is about 20% larger than a blimp, but it's still small by Zep standards, with just room for 12 passengers and a crew. It's "semi-rigid," meaning that it's got an internal framework but not a totally solid hull like the Zeppelins of old. It's also got a single gas chamber, rather than multiple cells. They also achieve lift with helium, which may make your voice sound funny, but won't go "boom" to the horror of radio announcers everywhere.

NTs have been in action since the 1990s, all over Europe and Japan. Fun fact: When a Japanese firm bought one in 2004, they wanted to re-enact a historic (pre-Axis) flight of the Graf Zeppelin, from Germany to Japan, but Russia said "Ix nay." [The Standard via Slashdot; More great pics from official Zeppelin site]