"Sorry, I don't have anything say about this topic right now," Brin stated in an email.

Apparently Bring has been intrigued by airships for a very long time. It started when he would visit Ames, which happens to be located next to the headquarters for Alphabet, Google's parent company, in Mountain View, California. It was once home to the USS Macon, an airship built by the U.S. Navy. When Brin viewed photographs of the Macon three years ago, he decided he wanted to build one.

Brin's project is entirely separate from Google and Alphabet. The construction of his airship is being overseen by Alan Weston, former director of programs at NASA Ames. Weston has an interesting past, one that includes being a member of the Dangers Sports Club, a group of smartypants adrenaline junkies who performed risk-taking stunts, such as catapulting people across fields into nets. The group is credited with inventing the practice of bungee jumping.

Weston would later join the Air Force then NASA where he would work on a number of projects. In a radio interview four years ago, Weston outlined plans for an airship that could haul cargo. He touted the benefits of such a thing, as an airship would be more fuel efficient than airplanes and would be capable of delivering cargo directly to where they're needed.

He also described a prototype of a helium-based craft, one that could carry 500 tons without a ballast. It is not clear if either of those ideas are related to Brin's airship, but either way, it appears Brin's project is in the right hands.