Per the Daily Mail, "World's largest airship is unveiled: Enormous aircraft backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin measures 400 FEET long - almost twice the size of a Boeing 747."
The Pathfinder 1 is the largest aircraft produced since the 800ft (245 metre) Hindenburg was went up in flames in 1937.
It is as large as three Boeing 737s and even dwarfs the Statolaunch plane used to carry rockets into orbit.
While the Hindenburg was filled with extremely flammable hydrogen, the Pathfinder 1 uses safe, non-reactive Helium stored in 13 airbags.
With the price of helium fluctuating amid shortages, filling the Pathfinder 1 could cost between $250,000 (£197,877) and $1 million (£791,500).
Each of the 13 rip-stop nylon bags is held in place by a skeleton of 10,000 carbon fibre-reinforced poles and 3,000 titanium hubs.
LTA Research says that it uses advanced lidar technology to constantly monitor the levels of gas contained in the balloon.
The entire frame is then wrapped in a synthetic material called Tedlar, which LTA Research claims is resistant to UV light and fire.
With technology adapted from drones, the Pathfinder 1 will also be surprisingly easy to fly and will only need one pilot at any time using a 'fly by wire' joystick system.
It is being touted as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of air travel. Unfortunately, helium production is a biproduct of natural gas drilling, and its electric motors and batteries undoubtedly also rely on strip mining in order to obtain the necessary rare earth elements.
The craft is currently undergoing testing which limits it test flights to being close to the ground while tethered.
Yup, helium is not renewable, and airships will be the craft of the future . . . always.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. This isn't the 1930s and we can figure out how to safely use hydrogen. Where I see it being of value would be for lower cost air freight where speed wasn't an issue. But like other such agencies, the FAA rules meant to keep us safe have metastasized over the years into rules that crush innovation.
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