A massive aircraft that could revolutionize travel has received a significant boost.
When the Airlander 10 starts flying commercially in 2029, the 92-metre, £60million per-unit aircraft will be the biggest in the world. It will also be one of the most green.
The company behind it, Hybrid Air Vehicles, has just announced it is working with UK-American firm ZeroAvia to power the aircraft with hydrogen-electric engines. These will reduce the emissions of the Airlander 10 to a tiny fraction, perhaps just 1 or 2%, of a typical, kerosene-powered commercial plane.
When the Airlander 10 first flew in 2010, it quickly earned the nickname ‘the flying bum’ due to its intriguing curviness and the way it looks when viewed from behind. HAV’s director of sales, George Land – whose firm bought the design when the project was scrapped by the US military following the end of the Iraq War – welcomes the comparison as some light-hearted fun, despite claiming he has “personally never seen it.”
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At the beginning of November, Mr Land was on hand at HAV’s Bedford facility at the end of a drizzly industrial estate to showcase the newest designs of a truly enormous aircraft that had caused traffic congestion and attracted crowds of aviation enthusiasts when a test model was flown nearby in August 2016. Nine years later, the test aircraft have been retired without replacements.
All that remains of HAV’s airship ambitions are two prototype passenger cabins designed to hang beneath the helium-filled envelope, plus a single engine. However, that’s about to change.
HAV has secured land in Doncaster and intends to construct the new, enhanced Airlander 10 there over the next 12 to 18 months. Following an extensive approval process by the Civil Aviation Authority, up to two dozen aircraft will be manufactured annually from 2030 at the South Yorkshire facility.
“The aircraft should be in service in 2029,” Mr Land said whilst standing beside an elegant, wine-stocked bar in the cabin. That bar, complete with its gleaming coffee machine and stylish seating, represents the heart of HAV’s vision for aviation’s future and where it identifies a market opportunity.
When the Airlander 10 takes to the skies, passengers can bid farewell to cramped, stuffy, noisy commercial jet cabins, and welcome a more spacious, peaceful flying experience. The innovative craft cruises at a maximum altitude of 3,000 metres, low enough to eliminate the need for cabin pressurisation.
It’s sufficiently low that passengers could theoretically open windows for fresh air.
Its maximum speed of 80 mph means the Airlander won’t vibrate and roar like contemporary jets, which largely explains why passengers often disembark feeling drained and thoroughly worn out. Whilst it may be roughly six times slower than a Boeing Dreamliner, what the Airlander lacks in speed it compensates for with endurance.
The vessel can remain airborne for five consecutive days, covering a distance of 4,000 miles – possibly sufficient to travel from London to the North Pole. French polar expedition company Grands Espaces has already secured an Airlander 10, whilst Spanish aviation firm Air Nostrum has placed orders for 20 aircraft to service remote, sun-kissed islands.
Whilst relaxing in the Airlander’s lounge area, I donned a VR headset and was instantly transported several thousand miles northward. We glided above a deep azure ocean dotted with icebergs.
The aircraft operates safely at 300 metres above ground level – approximately the height of The Shard – offering passengers a hot-air-balloon-style perspective of the landscape beneath. The possibilities for African safaris, Arctic polar bear observation or whale watching expeditions are evident.
Whilst airlines and tour operators will be able to customise their Airlanders according to their requirements, the standard design accommodates 100 passengers. A luxury specification will feature private double bedrooms for a more intimate group of 18 guests.
Mr Land’s characterisation of it as a “cruise ship in the sky” seems particularly fitting. By some measures, the aircraft ranks as the world’s largest, with the passenger cabin approximately the same length as an Airbus A320. Unlike conventional passenger jets, the Airlander doesn’t require vast quantities of kerosene for flight.
Indeed, HAV says it reduces comparable emissions by 90 per cent. The potential for improvement has been further boosted by today’s announcement of a “memorandum of understanding to partner on development of a hydrogen-electric variant of Airlander 10”.
The use of hydrogen in powering aircraft is seen as crucial by those seeking to green a highly polluting and rapidly expanding industry.
Speaking from ZeroAvia’s headquarters at Cotswolds Airport, Val Miftakhov said: “Airlander is another exciting airframe for line-fit for our powertrains as it can open up a whole new market in air travel due to its range, efficiency, and ability to operate from almost anywhere. Like ZeroAvia, Hybrid Air Vehicles is an aerospace innovator with exciting manufacturing and growth plans for the UK that can deliver hundreds of well-paid jobs in different regions in the UK.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
