World's largest aircraft gets ready for take-off

[rtwjunkie]

unsafe (helium)

I believe you are thinking of Hydrogen, which is what the old dirigibles like the zeppelins used.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/24/africa/superblimp-africa/?iid=ob_homepage_tech_pool&iref=obinsite

They're trying to sell it to African mining operations as a means to transport goods without building expensive rails.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Lockheed Martin joins race to make long-haul airships

THE LMH-1 HYBRID AIRSHIP

The LMH-1, filled mostly with helium, will carry 20 tons of cargo, but can scaled to roughly the size of a football field with 500 tons of capacity.
It will have a fuel capacity of 5,000 gallon with a range of 1,400 nautical miles.
Its four hovercraft-like landing pads would allow it to set down on flat land without being required to be moored on large towers like traditional airships.
Current estimates suggests the price of the hybrid airship will be between £25 million to £30 million, or approximately $40 million.
The hybrid airship will have room for a crew of two, and up to 19 passengers.

Los Angeles Times

 

[FordGT90Concept]

They put the Skunkworks logo on the tail fin noooooooooooooooo!11!11

On the plus side: if fusion power takes off there will be no shortage of helium. And that one doesn't look like an ass.

 

[Norton]

They put the Skunkworks logo on the tail fin noooooooooooooooo!11!11

That means it's a Lockheed piñata..... the surprise is inside that big puffy shell!

Would not be surprised at all if that's just a transport vehicle for something they don't want anyone to see.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If Lockheed is not selling it, maybe. They do have facilities all over the country.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Fins and engines are fitted.

The craft has already been tested with a successful hover test, with the hull being filled with helium and floated outside the aircraft hanger in November, but this will be the first test once the engines are successfully attached.
The date of the test flight has not been announced but the craft will be restricted to a 70-mile (112km) radius. If successful, an aircraft based on this prototype will go into production.


During last year's 'floating' test, the craft was attached to four fork-lift trucks, each with a two-tonne block of cement to stop it being carried away, and driven the entire length of the hangar.
In its new position nearer the doors of the hangar, the £80 million ($1.1 billion) aircraft is now being fitted with its engine, fins and 'mission module' ahead of its first proper flight.

 

[ShiBDiB]

Future of air travel? More like moving backwards in the progression of air travel... There's a reason even the US DOD stopped funding this, and they'll fund anything.

 

[Peter1986C]

Yeah, with Hyperloop and so on on our doorstep (next 30 years) this may be struggling to get and remain relevant.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Hybrid Air Vehicles, the company behind the aircraft, has revealed details of the routes and manoeuvres that will be used to put the giant hybrid airship through its paces.

It will fly over the Cardington area of Bedfordshire, England, just to the east of the M1 corridor and west of the A1.

The trials will include tests of the controls, electrical systems, airspeed calibration and to examine how it performs in real life conditions.

A second phase of tests, which will need to be approved by regulators, will see the Airlander 10 travel up to 86 miles and up to altitudes of 10,000 feet at speeds of 69 mph (60 knots).

David Burns, chief test pilot at Hybrid Air Vehicles, said: 'Although we have flown many hours in our ground simulator to look at all of these areas, we need good flight data to confirm the predicted performance and behaviour of the aircraft.

'During all the flying, the ground team will be receiving data from over 1000 different sensors sampled many times per second on board the aircraft.

'These are then received in the specially converted trial's bus, for real-time display and monitoring of the Airlander's performance and behaviour.

'After all the data from these first flights has been analysed and reports written and submitted to our regulators, we move on to the second phase of trials, which will see Airlander travel much further afield.'

Spoiler

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Still not seeing the point. Yeah, it can carry a bit more because of the airfoil design but a blimp is a blimp. They are novelties. A helicopter drone can do everything a blimp can do for a fraction of the cost.

 

[dont whant to set it"']

The point of it beining what "?" that it can float in athmosphere, "been there, done that",

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The world's largest aircraft branded 'the flying bum' has taken to the skies in a successful maiden voyage - the first since a revamp in Britain.

The 302ft-long Airlander 10 - part plane, part helicopter, part airship - loomed overhead at Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire as the sun started to set on this evening.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

OOOOOPS

 

[Nosada]

I'd love it if it had TCAS on board, imagine having to listen to 15 minutes of "PULL UP, PULL UP, PULL UP" before you crash

 

[qubit]

It looks so incredibly fat! Waiting for the new slimline version lol.

Or, they can have a stronger shell. That way they can make it smaller and sleeker and pump in more gas for a higher internal pressure for more lift to make up for the smaller size.

First person to point out what's wrong with the above statement gets a brownie point.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

First person to point out what's wrong with the above statement gets a brownie point.

Volume not pressure.

 

[Ferrum Master]

It looks so incredibly fat! Waiting for the new slimline version lol.

Or, they can have a stronger shell. That way they can make it smaller and sleeker and pump in more gas for a higher internal pressure for more lift to make up for the smaller size.

First person to point out what's wrong with the above statement gets a brownie point.

More pressure means more atoms, means more weight lol.

 

[qubit]

Indeed, quite. And caps gets qubit's official brownie point - please take a bow!

Ideally, you'd want a vacuum in there, but then it would get crushed like tinfoil with the air pressure outside.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

 

[Solaris17]

I'd love it if it had TCAS on board, imagine having to listen to 15 minutes of "PULL UP, PULL UP, PULL UP" before you crash

ROLL RIGHT ROLL RIGHT

I have this new image of battle ready blimps now.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Its not a proper "flying bum" till it's got a crack and a hole in it.

 

[qubit]

Its not a proper "flying bum" till it's got a crack and a hole in it.

 

[dorsetknob]

Its not a proper "flying bum" till it's got a crack and a hole in it.

And Do not forget the Methane gas Rocket Propulsion

 

[FordGT90Concept]

ROLL RIGHT ROLL RIGHT

I have this new image of battle ready blimps now.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/World-War-2-History-The-Goodyear-Blimp-Goes-to-War

They weren't very good. XD