Airship

Airships are a mode of transportation in the world of RWBY. They are first seen in the pilot episode. They have been used to ferry students from a multitude of locations to Beacon Academy.

The passenger airships seen in the episode, Ruby Rose, are very slow moving and it is unlikely that the four huge moving 'wings' are generating aerodynamic lift. Instead, given the similarity of the motion of the wings to that of turtle flippers, they may be part of the propulsion system. These airships are also seen with three clusters of three glowing exhausts at the back but their purpose is unclear.

There are no visible lighter-than-air gas bags. This indicates that the similarity of name to Earth dirigibles is completely coincidental.

It is highly probable that the secret of the airships' flight capability lies in some application of the power of Dust.

Accommodation and Facilities
The Airships are shown as having a single viewing gallery, approximately 12 feet across running along the bottom of the hull with four semi-circular windows, mounted at a downward oblique angle, on each side. The windows also seem to have holographic projectors which can be used to show commercial media broadcasts such as VNN news broadcasts or pre-recorded information presentations.

From the opening, we see that there is also an open-to-air observation deck at the upper front of the hull. This is immediately in front of a set of viewing windows but it is not clear if this is the piloting compartment or part of the passenger facilities.

The airship has the ability to dock at pier-like skyports and has a downward-hinged exit ramp that mates directly onto the pier structure, allowing passengers to directly disembark onto land.

Docking procedure
When docking at a skyport, the airships' wings fold down and it flies alongside the pier before slowly moving sideways until its exit ramp is aligned with the pier. There do not seem to be any visible mooring ropes or ground crews, implying the crew have a high degree of fine control over the vehicle's movements, comparable to that of a helicopter.