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Cargo Airships Are Happening

(www.elidourado.com)
220 points elidourado | 25 comments | 14 Oct 24 16:31 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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voidUpdate ◴[15 Oct 24 13:00 UTC] No.41848119[source]▶
> "But for air freight service, end-to-end delivery takes a week or more, involving multiple parties: in addition to the air carrier and freight forwarder, at both the origin and destination, there is a trucking company, a warehouse, a customs broker, and an airport. Each touchpoint adds cost, delay, and the risk of theft or breakage."

How does an airship solve any of those problems? Its still got to go through customs and such, and still go through local truck delivery

replies(9): >>41848306 #>>41849221 #>>41849254 #>>41849317 #>>41849635 #>>41850529 #>>41850533 #>>41851062 #>>41855240 #
1. Thorrez ◴[15 Oct 24 13:21 UTC] No.41848306[source]▶
I'm not sure about how they solve customs, but the picture shows an airship dropping cargo directly off at a warehouse (avoiding trucks).
replies(3): >>41848726 #>>41849211 #>>41849244 #
2. MichaelZuo ◴[15 Oct 24 14:04 UTC] No.41848726[source]▶
How will the airship and its cargo clear customs at a random warehouse with presumably no staffing of border agents?
replies(4): >>41849021 #>>41849132 #>>41849231 #>>41849825 #
3. patl ◴[15 Oct 24 14:30 UTC] No.41849021[source]▶
Maybe it's still a customs/border facility. It can just be inland now, away from the very expensive waterfront/costal property
replies(2): >>41849247 #>>41850567 #
4. closewith ◴[15 Oct 24 14:42 UTC] No.41849132[source]▶
Not that I put any credence into the idea in the article, but for your particular question, the same way it occurs now at airports - bonded warehouses.
replies(1): >>41849238 #
5. hazmazlaz ◴[15 Oct 24 14:50 UTC] No.41849211[source]▶
I guarantee that's not going to be a viable option. No nation, especially China or the USA, is going to allow an aircraft free access to land unknown cargo at a random warehouse without going through customs. It's going to have to land at some kind of airfield just like a cargo plane would.
replies(3): >>41849475 #>>41850940 #>>41851207 #
6. ozim ◴[15 Oct 24 14:52 UTC] No.41849231[source]▶
Implementation details /s
7. MichaelZuo ◴[15 Oct 24 14:52 UTC] No.41849238{3}[source]▶
Which airports have bonded warehouses but do not already host customs facilities or agents?

I think that has to come after, not before.

replies(1): >>41849486 #
8. traceroute66 ◴[15 Oct 24 14:53 UTC] No.41849244[source]▶
> but the picture shows an airship dropping cargo directly off at a warehouse

Yeah, and that shit isn't going to happen either for a bazillion $very_good_reasons.

Not least safety.

I mean, yeah, let's just turn up at a densely populated environment and use a winch to long-line drop a few tons of cargo.

Whilst the general public and employees are walking around the place ?

When there's overhead cabling around ?

Even in perfect weather, with no wind, no rain, its still a dumb-as-shit idea.

replies(2): >>41851968 #>>41864011 #
9. dylan604 ◴[15 Oct 24 14:53 UTC] No.41849247{3}[source]▶
Would that inland facility still have a 100 mile jurisdiction boundary around it as well?
replies(1): >>41849566 #
10. UncleOxidant ◴[15 Oct 24 15:13 UTC] No.41849475[source]▶
Next article: Transparent Airships Are Happening
11. closewith ◴[15 Oct 24 15:14 UTC] No.41849486{4}[source]▶
I don't know if you're aware, but bonded warehouses are customs facilities. The vast majority of goods never pass through a Government customs facility.
replies(1): >>41850808 #
12. withinboredom ◴[15 Oct 24 15:24 UTC] No.41849566{4}[source]▶
Yes, of course, with a grid of these facilities across the country.
13. LaGrange ◴[15 Oct 24 15:51 UTC] No.41849825[source]▶
Easy, put it on a starship instead, and fire it off like a ballistic missile at the target warehouse.
14. DowagerDave ◴[15 Oct 24 16:57 UTC] No.41850567{3}[source]▶
the reason that property is so expensive is because that's where the people are. There's no point in avoiding the biggest cost of air freight - getting goods to consumers who don't live near the limited freight hubs, if you land it in the middle of nowhere and now need to ship by rail or truck AND last mile delivery
replies(1): >>41850982 #
15. MichaelZuo ◴[15 Oct 24 17:21 UTC] No.41850808{5}[source]▶
In which countries are they legally identical, or even mostly identical, to the customs facilities commonly found in international airports?
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16. nickff ◴[15 Oct 24 17:34 UTC] No.41850940[source]▶
I am not sure what US law on the matter is, but many countries have what are known as "bonded warehouses", which store uncleared goods within the destination country. Are you a customs expert? If so, please comment on whether the US has an equivalent.
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17. nickff ◴[15 Oct 24 17:35 UTC] No.41850966{6}[source]▶
I am not the parent, but they did not say bonded warehouses were identical to government customs facilities at airports.

>"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

replies(1): >>41851075 #
18. nickff ◴[15 Oct 24 17:37 UTC] No.41850982{4}[source]▶
There are lots of people inland and away from sea ports. Many hubs of industry (such as Wisconsin which makes many mechanics' tools) could take advantage of this if it were available.
19. MichaelZuo ◴[15 Oct 24 17:47 UTC] No.41851075{7}[source]▶
Hence why I also said ‘or even mostly identical’?

If it’s only vaguely similar in fact, then that seems hardly convincing.

20. emmelaich ◴[15 Oct 24 17:52 UTC] No.41851131{3}[source]▶
There's also 'free trade' areas within China that allow transfer without import and export tax and other innovations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Free-Trade_Zone

21. dash2 ◴[15 Oct 24 17:59 UTC] No.41851207[source]▶
I mean, the US just lets Chinese spy balloons wander aimlessly through its airspace :-P
replies(1): >>41866144 #
22. m4rtink ◴[15 Oct 24 19:02 UTC] No.41851968[source]▶
Yeah, doesn't it kida turn anything under it into a heavy cargo crane safety zone ? Like, you not let people walk at random under suspended loads & thats what a loading/unloading operation for this turns into.
23. anticensor ◴[15 Oct 24 20:33 UTC] No.41852808{3}[source]▶
Not a customs expert, but a short research suggests bonded warehouses do indeed exist in the United States: https://openjurist.org/title-19/us-code/section-1311/bonded-...
24. dzhiurgis ◴[16 Oct 24 21:27 UTC] No.41864011[source]▶
Drones for end customers make more sense then
25. yellowapple ◴[17 Oct 24 03:24 UTC] No.41866144{3}[source]▶
Gotta give those F-22s target practice to keep their bloodlust sated. Otherwise they start snacking on commercial traffic and that can get real awkward real fast.