Abstract: A lighter-than-air aircraft (1) having a gas-filled hull (2) and a pair of spaced apart landing gear units (11, 12) on the underside of the hull arranged on opposite sides of a longitudinally extending central vertical plane of the hull. Each landing gear unit (11, 12) comprises bag skirt means (5–7, 5?–7?), means for supplying air to and removing air from the bag skirt means and actuating means operable to move the bag skirt means between an operative configuration for containing one or more air cushions and an inoperative configuration.

Abstract: A control system for airships and the like that incorporates optically encoded control signals and a compressed fluid power source to power a remote control station to decrease the susceptibility of the control system to uninterruption or disablement due to electromagnetic interference. The compressed fluid power source provides means of driving an electrical generator at a remote location to power the electrical portion of the control system at the remote location in addition to providing primary power for movement of the controlled devices.