Now Emerging from R&D: The 60-Ton Cargo Blimp

(MoneyWatch) 
A blimp being built outside of Los Angeles by Worldwide Aeros Corp. in Montebello, Calif., could soon shake up the transportation industry. Called the Aeroscraft, the blimp can haul tons of cargo and hover along at 138 MPH for 3,000 miles. About three-quarters of its weight is supported by helium and it's buoyed by air, so it uses less fuel than a jet.

Worldwide Aeros was founded by Igor Pasternak and the company claims to produce some of the world's most advanced blimps. Company officials said the craft was funded by the government to transport cargo to areas without runways, but now it's looking at civilian use. The Aeroscraft ML866 has a 5,300-square-foot interior which, although it can make it a flying yacht for billionaires, will probably be most commercially successful transporting cargo.

But the blimp is still in prototype and has yet to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. That still hasn't stopped company officials from touting still-to-be-built models that will be able to hold 60 tons of cargo, obviously trying to tap into the overnight freight market. I mean, look at that photo!