The White Dwarf is a human-powered

dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...

built in 1984 that set several world records.

Development

The ''White Dwarf'' was commissioned and funded by comedian Gallagher, whose interest in airships was sparked by a radio-controlled flying

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

he used in his stage act. It was constructed by Bill Watson, who was part of the team that built the ''

Gossamer Albatross The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer ...

'' human-powered craft.

Design

The dirigible features a teardrop-shaped lift bag. The

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

is a truss design with a single pilot seat on top with a chain-driven

pusher propeller In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, whic ...

, 64 inches in length, positioned in front of a rudder. It weighs .

Operational history

The ''White Dwarf'' set several world records with pilot (and engine) Bryan Allen. It was flown a distance of in 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Specifications (White Dwarf)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal, journal=Air and Space Magazine, title=Who Is Bryan Allen?, author1=Sugar, James , author2=Stephan Wilkinson , name-list-style=amp , date=June 1986, page=53 {{Cite web, url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/09/28/Comic-has-gas-of-time-pedaling-White-Dwarf/3498465192000/, title=Comic has gas of time pedaling White Dwarf , date=September 28, 1984 , first=Bill , last=Cardoso , website=UPI {{cite book , editor-last1=Taylor , editor-first1=John W. R. , editor-last2=Munson, editor-first2=Kenneth, date=1985 , title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985-86, location=London , publisher=Jane's Yearbooks , page=770 , isbn=0710608217 , url=https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi8586shar/page/770/mode/1up, access-date=February 5, 2025 {{Cite web, url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-27-fi-1370-story.html, title=Radio-Controlled Blimp Uses Stealth Technology at 28 M.P.H., first=John, last=Medearis, date=February 27, 1990, website=Los Angeles Times
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525062617/http://home.teleport.com/~reedg/whitedwarf.html , date=May 25, 2015 ''The White Dwarf Flies Again''

External links