Designed by the UK’s Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) company, futuristic blimp the Airlander 10 will make its first flight in March, 2016, over the fields of Bedfordshire.
Measuring 43.5 metres wide and 92 metres long, it is far bigger than the world’s largest passenger jet, the A380 superjumbo, which is 73 metres long. (To put the Airlander into perspective, it would obliterate a football pitch if it tried to land on it.)
On top of this, it will be able to remain airborne for up to two weeks, and has the capability to travel at more than 90mph. The Airlander can hover like a helicopter, land in almost any terrain (making it ideal for disaster relief efforts) and perform in temperatures ranging from minus 56 to plus 54 degrees Celsius.
Hybrid Air Vehicles is aiming to have built ten of these blimps a year by the end of 2021. Mass produced Airlander 10s are expected to sell for US$40 million to US$60, while the upcoming Airlander 50 would be US$100 million. (The list price for an A380 in 2015 was US$428 million.)
It was originally envisioned for use by the US Army for surveillance in war zones, but the project was binned a few years ago.
Mike Durham, technical director for HAV, says: “Airlander is our key product – it’s a product that is going to change the world. It can achieve just about anything.”