“Blue sky design” is a term used to describe ideas and concepts that are brand new — still very much in the exploratory stage. Anything is possible at this early point in the design. It’s a fun period for any project.
Many years ago, when we first purchased our four-axis CNC router, we knew there would be a bit of a learning curve. Our plan was to build some samples — we certainly weren't going to schedule a customer's work until we were comfortable with the machine. We hoped (and it turned out to be the case) that this would allow us to go further, faster, than going straight into production.
We decided to build an airship for the router’s first project. Believe it or not, our family has a long history of building dirigibles. More than twenty years before this, Dan had built a model airship using a brand new lathe (fittingly, I think it might have been the first project to come off that particular machine as well.
A decade or so later, that early model had inspired a large-as-life version for Professor WEM's Adventure Golf at West Edmonton Mall. This larger dirigible was constructed of sculpted concrete over a welded steel frame. (Which made it the heaviest lighter-than-air craft ever assembled!)
In the early 2000’s we were seriously considering expanding Giggle Ridge (an adventure golf we had build/owned/operated) and, as part of that plan, we designed a railroad which circled a small mountain. (Our house and studio would have been hidden inside the mountain.) On the ‘show side’ of the mountain, a hot air balloon would have been tethered in a hanger. Dan built a quick study model as part of the design process, but the project changed direction before it was finished.
The drawings for that particular project were the inspiration for this next (CNC routed) iteration of our ‘blue sky’ airship.
