The afternoon of August 17, 2016 will remain for the annals as the date of the first flight of the Airlander 10, a colossal airship 92 meters long, 43.5 wide, 26 high and weighing 20,000 kilos (it admits another 10,000 cargo), which can reach a cruising speed of 148 km / h and fly at an altitude of almost 5,000 meters for five days in a row with a crew, or for two weeks without personnel.
This device manufactured by Hybrid Air Vehicles is powered by four 325 hp turbodiesel engines. Once in the air, the helium that fills it helps to keep it suspended. The Airlander maintains its shape thanks to the pressure of this gas and has a light structure of carbon fiber and Vectran, a very resistant liquid crystal polymer (LCP) fiber yarn.
As you can see in the video, this modern zeppelin took off from Cardington airfield, 70 kilometers north of London, and circled for half an hour before landing on the same site.
The Airlander 10, which emerged as a design for the US Army, saw its development suspended due to its high cost, but the British firm Hybrid Air Vehicles bought the aircraft and resumed the project with the intention of adapting it to transport, the communications and observation in the civil and military sectors.
Despite being in the prototype phase, the Airlander 10 has a bigger brother on the horizon: the Airlander 50, which will measure 119 meters long and carry up to 60,000 kilos of cargo. If all goes well, both colossi will be operational by the beginning of the next decade.
Image: Hybrid Air Vehicles
