The Heavy-Lift Airship That Wasn’t: What Happened To The Cargo Lifter CL 160?

The CargoLifter CL160 is one of the greatest airships never made. It may surprise many, but airships never went extinct – they were just pushed to the corners of aviation by the development of regular aircraft. Airships retain many advantages over their heavier-than-air counterparts – including their ability to lift heavy loads over long distances to places almost devoid of infrastructure. The proposed 160-ton capability CargoLifer CL160 was one attempt to bring airships into the modern age. Where it failed, others are continuing to push on (such as Russia's Aerosmena, which is trying to make massive cargo-carrying airships a reality).