Derrigibles in Spelljammer

I have a strange idea: using lighter-than-air ships in Spelljammer.  I'm
thinking of an airship like the Hindenburgh or the Graff Zepplin, but
replacing the propellers with special sails.  Let's also assume for the
moment that a realiable source of helium or another light gas (not found in
the real universe) is available.

A ship that size would have a very large gravity plane and air bubble, but
the actual tonnage of the ship would be smaller than the size would imply,
since much of the ship is empty space.  Based on the plans I have seen, the
crew and passenger sections of the Hindenburgh would probably be (in SJ
terms) about the size of a hammership (60 tons give/take).  The Graff would
be between 40 and 50.

These ships can operate in an atmosphere, and because of the large surface
area they could probably be operated in the flow w/o the use of a helm.
Travel through the flow would be *very* slow.  More on that in a moment.

I'm thinking that it might be possible for a civilization that doesn't have
immediate access to advanced spelljamming technology might use an LTA ship
to try and reach space.  For the atmosphere and the flow, the design of the
ship is fine.  For wildspace, it would need a helm of some type; perhaps a
"primative" design like a furnace helm.  By means of the helm, the LTA could
travel around wildspace like any other spelljammer.

If it tried to enter the flow, it would have to take the helm off-line and
rely on the flow currents to carry it.  Travelling from one sphere to
another could take a year or more, since the ship is essentially riding the
currents.  For a regular spelljammer this would pose a real problem for air,
but since the LTA has an air bubble twice or three times what it's tonnage
would imply (again because of the huge gas bags), this might actually be
possible.  Once the LTA enters wildspace again, the furnace helm can be
re-activated, and away they go.

Incidently, if you're using a furnace helm, filling your LTA with hydrogen
wouldn't be a good idea.

I'm picturing an LTA manned by Giff wearing pre-WW-I style German uniforms.

These are just ramblings.  Anyone care to pick this up?

Richard
==============================================================
Richard J. Pugh, MLS        |RJPugh@??.??????.com
Admin: spelljammer@??.??.uk |http://freenet.buffalo.edu/~ac916
==============================================================