Zeppelin Flight over Lake Constance to the Säntis


zeppelinflug bodensee friedrichshafen

At the end of April a long-cherished dream came true: my first flight in the big drone made in Friedrichshafen, the Zeppelin, over Lake Constance towards St. Gallen and the Säntis. Of course I was nervous.

Worrying about the weather

Two days before, the weather looked gloomy, and I almost expected a cancellation because of rain. On the ferry from Konstanz to Friedrichshafen dark clouds hung over the Alps, but shortly before take-off they moved off towards Vorarlberg. The flight could begin.

Better than any drone

The hour flew by, and the live view from above of water, mountains and sky was better than any drone shot. The flights use the Zeppelin NT, for “New Technology”, built in Friedrichshafen since the 1990s; as a semi-rigid airship it is the only one with a rigid internal frame, and in 2024 six of them were in service worldwide.

Bright cumulus clouds on the right, a dark bank of cloud in the sky on the left

Two shots: layered banks of cloud and a bright cumulus against blue

Small Zeppelin above a closed blanket of cloud in the blue sky

Nose of the Zeppelin with compass rose, gondola and livery above the apron

Cockpit of the Zeppelin with blue seats, instruments and clouds outside the windows

Two shots: winding path through a green meadow and a dark surface with a pale seam

Lindau island with harbour, lighthouse and causeway, a boat on the lake, from the air

White ferry with a long wake on the open waters of Lake Constance, from the air

Two people in the Zeppelin's cockpit, lake, fields and a town ahead of them

Two shots: yellow field and blossoming trees along the road, a bend beside them, from the air

Snow-covered rock faces beneath a low blanket of cloud

Meadow with long tree shadows at the edge of the dark forest, from the air

Two shots: farm with red roofs among blossoming trees and single trees in bloom, from the air

Fog in the wooded valleys, snowy ridges behind, from the air

Two shots: old town with a church and two towers, roofs and a red square beside it, from the air

Steep wall of snow with rock bands and dark forest at its foot

Red and white train on the viaduct above the green forest, from the air

Village with a church tower on a bay, yellow field in the foreground, from the air

Underside of the Zeppelin above a bay and a town, snowy mountains on the horizon

Two shots: sailing boats in rows at the jetty and fine ripples on the water, from the air

Snowy mountain range, a peak on the right half in cloud

Friedrichshafen harbour with breakwater, marina and a ferry, sun on the lake, from the air

White aircraft from above on the concrete, green meadow behind, from the air

Lake Constance under clouds, the snowy chain of the Alps behind, forest in the foreground

White Zeppelin on the meadow beneath a dense grey sky

Related posts