Abstract: An airship capable of vertical and horizontal flight and able to make right angle turns is preferably of nearly neutral buoyancy and comprises two gas bags, the lower of which is toroidal in shape and surrounds a centrally located engine that has a downwardly facing inlet. Upwardly directed thrust from the engine is redirected by a gate valve arrangement into a manifold of ducts, each of which passes between the upper and lower gas bags to a respective outlet or nozzle adjacent the periphery of the aircraft. To fly the aircraft, a pilot uses the cable-operated valve arrangement to manage the distribution of thrust from the engine into selected ones of the ducts to provide thrust in a desired direction. Preferred pilot operated controls comprise a foot pedal and a rotatable steering wheel mounted on a pedestal hingedly attached to the gondola of the aircraft for fore and aft pivoting motion.