John Quiggin

I saw it too – though I thought it was a Virgin blimp having that particular red. I pointed it out to my duaghter who said “Wow!” then immediately lost interest.

It’s so hard to entertain the young these days.

It flew low over my house almost every day when it was here in Melbourne for the AFL finals. Drove the dogs nuts. As for me, I didn’t remember anyone asking whether I wanted to sell my view of clear sky to an advertiser …

I raelise I am a sad sad person with perverse interests, but I have regularly fantasised about having a small AA gun (a bofors 40mm would be ideal) in my back garden. Though I suspect the Holden blimp wouldn’t offer much sport.

It is Helium filled, so it is not exactly going to exploded if shot. Just leak a lot.

Not even leak that much, in percentage terms (think cube-square law and low internal pressure). Apparently in the USA they routinely find bullet holes in it during maintenance, put there by hoons during some earlier flight perhaps days earlier. Oh, hydrogen wouldn’t explode in those circumstances either (you’d have to have two goes, one to make leaks and a later one to ignite them after a delay to let the air get at the hydrogen).

I’m trying to alert but not alarmed upon reading this thread