Mmmm... macon.

/What?

labman: So would this qualify for the statement "Oh the huge manatee"

Might be even more appropriate, because of the oceanic location.

Yes, but where is the huge movement to find the U.S.S. Macacca?

Dude. Over the Pacific? Philidelphia Experiment! Ahhhh!

named after Uncle Dave?

OH THE HU-MACON-EE

Almost forgot...

Pigs on board?

Macon bacon?

/surfs for porn

It was helium filled, so it didn't do a Hindenburg, it rather was blown into the sea by a storm.

it's relaly strange that there are so many fish just hanging around the wreckage - one or two would be understandable, but check out all of that marine life.

They should get the Mythbusters to fill it with ping-pong balls and bring it back to the surface. :^)

Awesome! Old_Chief_Scott where can I see the videos? sounds like it was rather difficult, like landing on an aircraft carrier?

COOL!!!!!

I'm stoked! The Macon (and her sister ship the Akron) were lighter-than-air (dirigible) aircraft carriers. They carried a small biplane fighter called the Curtiss Sparrowhawk - it was launched and landed via a trapeze-like contraption that was lowered through a bay in the underside of the airship. Macon was lost in a storm off the California coast in the 30's.

/haven't RTFA yet - I'm a huge early aviation buff.

Umm didn't they find it ages ago? I recall a National Geographic article about it from a few years ago...

Grogan Rules: it's relaly strange that there are so many fish just hanging around the wreckage - one or two would be understandable, but check out all of that marine life.

Actually, they deliberately sink some old planes specifically to create habitats like that.

It's an artificial reef. I saw a plane up in Canada they were preparing to sink into a bay to do the same sort of thing. Strip off the wings, take out the interior, sink the fuselage--and you're all set.

The Macon was actually found a while ago:

From the article:

In the early 1990s they finally spotted the wreckage at a depth of 1,000 feet.

On a side note, I'm planning to build my own personal zeppelin... anyone got any advice?

blindeye01: It was helium filled, so it didn't do a Hindenburg,

Even without hydrogen, airship were just too dangerous. The USS Los Angeles, while moored, stood straight up on end.

"On a side note, I'm planning to build my own personal zeppelin... anyone got any advice?"

Yeah, you'll need Bonzo!!!!

cerberus9: On a side note, I'm planning to build my own personal zeppelin... anyone got any advice?

Use Hydrogen. :)

Grogan Rules: it's relaly strange that there are so many fish just hanging around the wreckage - one or two would be understandable, but check out all of that marine life.

Relaly?

cerberus9: On a side note, I'm planning to build my own personal zeppelin... anyone got any advice?

use Led, plenty of Led.

/just getting this out of the way

Here's the USS Macon in 1933 recovering 2 Sparrowhawk fighters. Excllent view that gives an idea of the size of the airship in relation to the fighters she carried.

Air ships are so farkin cool. They would be a lot safer if they never had to fly below the weather.

If you look closely at the wreckage, you can almost make out the words "Ice Cube's a Pimp" written on the side.

My knee-jerk reaction is that being a pilot of one of those scout planes took a lot of guts. The recovery process looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

There are plenty of pics of the airship/fighter operations here:

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/f-types/f9c-d.htm

Your dog wants Macon?

Kim Jong B Illin

LMFAO

savage_world - I have to agree with you - they must have had nerves of steel. But this was back when men were men, and the women were damn glad of it. These guys were pioneers - the same cloth that test pilots were and still are cut from. It was all a big adventure, and they were young and indestructible.

What else do they use blimps for today?

football games and nascar?

muninsfire: Actually, they deliberately sink some old planes specifically to create habitats like that.


Not just airplanes...

"Meanwhile, researchers had attempted to locate the airship remains with no luck, because the objects weren't at the recorded sinking location. In the early 1990s they finally spotted the wreckage at a depth of 1,000 feet."

'they'???? It was actually found by a fisherman trawling in the area in the 90's.

More about the Macon with a picture of the ROV used at my co.'s website.

http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2006/macon.html

Note the total lack of landing gear, replaced by a drop tank - these planes were basically TIE Fighters with propellers.

It was helium filled, so it didn't do a Hindenburg, it rather was blown into the sea by a storm.

...so there was no Macon Bakin'?
/got nuthin

They made these huge aircraft in a hanger in Akron, OH. It is still there, and is HUGE. It is the largest open enclosed area in the world.

Kim Jong B Illin

nice reference.

Wow. The dirigible AND four airplanes. Musta been VERY severe weather.

I lived near Miramar NAS years ago. You saw the STRANGEST things in the sky.

geocacherphil - bigger than Anna Nicole?

Airships are just farking cool.

Amelia Earhart was sunk to create an artificial reef.

Here's a funny true story:

The Macon took awhile to sink after hitting the water, giving most of the crew a chance to escape (2 crewmembers drowned). The crew took refuge on top of the Macon as it slowly sank. So imagine a group of 20-something guys sitting on top of a sinking dirigible in relative safety, surrounded by escaping helium...

While waiting to be rescued, they kept each other in absolute hysterics with "helium voices".

/silver lining