WATCH: NBC Affiliate Covers Meldrum's Bigfoot Blimp

Dr. Jeff Meldrum discussing opportunities of the Bigfoot Blimp

"It looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It's a dirigible, an airship that has two air cells that gives it a kind of a catamaran stability in the air," --Dr. Jeff Meldrum.

St. Louise NBC affiliate KSDK covers the Falcon Project, a project we refer to as the Bigfoot Blimp. We first covered the Falcon project back in 2010 before in an article titled, "The Falcon Project: A Blimp to Find Bigfoot." The project has been in the blueprint stage for sometime, and during that time it has gone through redesigns and revisions. Recently the Bigfoot Blimp has gained attention and higher visibility due Dr. Jeff Meldrum's involvement in trying to help fund the project from private donors.

In yesterdays (12/06/12) report by KSDK, there seems to be a new tone emerging. Dr. Jeff Meldrum reminds viewers that the Bigfoot Blimp could be used for research beyond Bigfoot.

"All types of wildlife studies even geological studies could be conducted with data that could be garnered from an airship gathering this type of aerial surveillance imagery," said Meldrum.

Good thing other wildlife and geological research may benefit from the Bigfoot Blimp. There have been those within the Bigfoot community who have expressed concerns. The habitat attributed to Bigfoot is usually under a dense forest canopy, a blimp navigating beneath this canopy seems unlikely. 

Watch Dr. Meldrum discuss the opportunities of using a Bigfoot Blimp below.

By Jake Taylor

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/CNN) - An Idaho professor is planning a search for Bigfoot, and he's building a new aircraft to help him find the legendary creature.
"A state of the art aerial wildlife survey in order to try to track and locate a sasquatch," said Prof. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University.

That's the plan. With the help of a Utah-based company, Meldrum says he'll soon build a Bigfoot blimp to try and track down the legendary creature.

"It looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It's a dirigible, an airship that has two air cells that gives it a kind of a catamaran stability in the air," said Meldrum.

He says the zeppelin will be state-of-the-art, filled with high-techequipment, and infrared cameras that will give researchers the best possible change of spotting a Sasquatch.

"It's not just looking at a little blob of red light against a blue background. This is high definition videography that will use a telephoto lens that can zoom in from a mile away literally," said Meldrum.
Of course, before the airship has its maiden voyage, it has to be built. Meldrum says the money to put it together will come from private donations.

Beyond the more attention-grabbing goal of finding Bigfoot, Meldrum says the planned aircraft has many other possible uses.
"All types of wildlife studies even geological studies could be conducted with data that could be garnered from an airship gathering this type of aerial surveillance imagery," said Meldrum.

He says he's planning on getting construction started within the next few months, and have it in the air by the end of the spring.
KIFI/CNN