Hey, have you seen this before? No, it is not a Blimp. It's more like a flying cruise ship that could change the way some people travel. It's called the Aeroscraft and it will carry passengers across continents and oceans while they enjoy the comforts inside. And, even though it looks like it requires a lot of ground area, it actually requires less than any airplane because it doesn't need a runway; it lifts and lands the way a helicopter does.

The Aeroscraft is not lighter than air. Only about two thirds of it's weight is lifted by helium. The rest of the body depends on huge rearward propellers to provide the lift and to help keep it aloft. In addition to these fans, six turbofan jet engines are used during takeoff and landing. The front-mounted propellers will be electric to help minimize noise, and will be powered by a renewable source such as hydrogen fuel cells. A highly efficient buoyancy system will allow for precise adjustments in flight dynamics to compensate for outside conditions and passenger movement.

This concept airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak, whose privately-funded California firm, Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have one completed by 2010. Pasternak says that several cruise ship companies have expressed interest in the project.

The craft is approximately the size of two football fields, has an estimated top speed of of 174 mph, and will not need pressurizing because it will not fly at a high enough altitude to require it. It will not be fast travel, but passengers on board will be able to enjoy grand views of what lies below as they relax in their luxury staterooms, dine in an elegant restaurant, or test their luck in a casino.

Because the Aeroscraft can land on any flat land surface, whether grass covered, asphalted, or snow covered, AND can land and float on water, some of the passenger aircraft can actually be used for more extensive cruise-type vacations. However, the company also envisions a cargo-carrying version that could deliver a store's worth of merchandise from a centralized distribution center straight to a store's parking lot or a year's worth of supplies to an offshore oil rig.