Methodology for calculating the economic efficiency of aerostatic aircraft in forest transport operations

The article deals with the problems of transportation development in remote hard-to-reach forest areas; their solution is especially relevant due to the significant depletion of forest reserves in well-developed operational forests. These problems could be solved by aerostatic aircraft exploitation. The author suggests a methodology for calculating the economic efficiency of airships utilization in transportation and cargo operations, which allows determining the cost of a flight hour by assessing absolute and relative efficiency. Particular attention is paid to the payback period of a complete airship fleet exploitation taking into account the full lifecycle of aircraft and ground service infrastructure. The principles of comparing the operational capabilities of airships with other modes of transport are given, the most important indicators being the costs of fuel and lubricants, scheduled maintenance, hull repair and propelling plants. The proposed methodology is the basis for more detailed calculations for specific cases and operating conditions of aerostatic aircraft, taking into account their flight characteristics. According to this method, it is also possible to compare the cost of flight hours of different airships against those of airplanes and helicopters.