Nach der Insolvenz der Cargolifter AG Mitte 2002 wurde Joey im Oktober 2003 für 13.500 Euro an den Geschäftsmann Philip Yiin nach Malaysia versteigert. 2009 ging Joey in den Besitz von Marvin Johnson aus Frankreich über wo er in einem Hangar in der Normandie überarbeitet wird und als Ultraleichtfluggerät zugelassen werden soll.
Nun, zumindest ist Joey wieder zurück in Europa. Ob wir ihn irgendwann nach Deutschland holen werden?
Auf den Webseiten habe ich nirgends einen Hinweis auf die Vorgeschichte des „Ziphius“ gefunden. Johnson versucht offenbar den Eindruck zu erwecken, er hätte alles entworfen.
Da unterschätzt er aber den Bekanntheitsgrad von CargoLifter
Hallo,
As you know, I am the current Joey owner, based in France. Here’s some information which I hope will clarify things. Sorry I’m not able to write in German!
First, the reason I did not refer to CL in the Ziphius project pages online was not to claim that I designed the airship; it was because I don’t want the Ziphius project (which also has a business perspective)
to be ‚weighed down‘ with the CL history, and sometimes, unfortunately, negative view of the Joey project (mainly due to a misunderstanding of its purpose for validating the CL-160). However,
following Mr Pest’s remark, I can understand your point of view, and have added a reference on my blog page.
I acquired Joey as a relatively quick (humm) means to start from a flying airship platform, and improve it so that it is more efficient as a ‚normal‘ airship in its own right, in relation to its limited volume, without the constraints
imposed on it by CL. As I mentioned on the blog, I am retaining parts of the systems which are appropriate, and replacing others.
I know the history of Joey and CL quite well, have visited Brand several times before and after the insolvency, and personally know several previous CL employees.
If anyone is interested to help the restoration and improvements, or propose some other initiative, just let me know - let’s get this unique airship flying again!
Best regards
Marvin Johnson
PS Latest news: a new inflatable hangar for the Ziphius 900 has arrived, and we plan to inflate it and the airship for display from May. Anyone interested to visit ? See http://ziphius-blimp.blogspot.de/
