http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/05/11/cathedral.dirigible.reut/

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Posted: 12:27 PM EDT (1627 GMT)

YORK, England (Reuters) -- Researchers have sent up a mini-airship inside one of Britain's most ancient cathedrals to inspect stained-glass windows and inaccessible stonework.

The meter-long radio-controlled craft carried digital cameras to allow staff to monitor the condition of the cathedral's 14th-century windows, all of which survived a 1984 fire that gutted the south transept.

"Compared to the cost of erecting scaffolding it is very cheap," said York Minster Collections Manager Louise Hampson on Tuesday.

"It's remarkably unobtrusive," she added. "Because it's almost silent, it's been possible to have services in the side chapel while it has been flying around."

Small electric motors control the fine movement of the craft, while wires from the ground dictate its height.

"It's quite sweet really," Hampson said. "People are fascinated by it."

The company that owns the helium-filled airship was initially set up by students at the nearby University of York, she said. The airship had also been used for similar work in the building and construction sectors.

"It is unlike anything else," Hampson said. "We've never had access to this kind of photography. Even when you erect scaffolding, you always find you've got a scaffolding pole in the middle of the picture."

See also here for a picture:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/3680015.stm

(Thanks to GeneS!)