Revolutionary Airship Design Utilizes Unprecedented Propulsion Method
Magnus Aerospace Corporation's LTA 20-1, a unique airship design from the 1980s, featured a spherical balloon filled with helium that would rotate, utilizing the Magnus Effect for propulsion. The project aimed to provide economic transport to inaccessible locations and had potential applications in heavy construction, emergency response, resource development, and military operations. Despite interest from foreign companies, the full-scale version of LTA 20-1 was never built, and the corporation dissolved in 2002. However, the inventor, Frederick D. Ferguson, continued experimenting with the Magnus Effect and later focused on clean energy creation. Lighter-than-air vehicles have seen a recent revival of interest, particularly for military applications.