The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10, originally developed as the HAV 304, is a hybrid airship designed and built by British manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). Comprising a

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic ta ...

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

with auxiliary wing and tail surfaces, it flies using both aerostatic and

aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

lift and is powered by four

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

-driven ducted propellers. The HAV 304 was originally built for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

's Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) programme. Its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...

took place in 2012 at

Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,US. In 2013, the LEMV project was cancelled by the US Army. HAV reacquired the airship and brought it back to Cardington Airfield in England. It was reassembled and modified for civilian use, and in this form was redesignated the Airlander 10. The modified aircraft completed design certification testing before being written off when it came loose from its moorings in a high wind on 18 November 2017 at Cardington Airfield. A production run of the Airlander 10 is now planned for 2025.

Development

HAV 304 and the LEMV requirement

During the 1990s, the UK based company Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) formed a partnership with US aerospace and defence company

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military tech ...

to promote the type in defence markets, particularly in the US. Following the successful demonstration of the HAV-3 small-scale demonstrator, and with Northrop Grumman as the prime bidder, the hybrid airship concept was accepted for the US Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) project, in preference to the Lockheed Martin P-791 that had also been submitted. The LEMV programme was intended to demonstrate a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle capable of providing

Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and manag ...

(ISTAR) support for ground troops. Besides HAV, UK and US subcontractors included Warwick Mills (fabric engineering and development),

ILC Dover ILC Dover, LP is a special engineering development and manufacturing company, globally headquartered in Newark, Delaware. ILC Dover specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace, personal protection, and ...

(specialised engineering development and manufacturing services), Textron subsidiary AAI Corporation (US Army OneSystem UAV/surveillance aircraft control & information distribution station), Stafford Aero Technologies (

flight control system A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft ...

s) and SAIC (full-motion video processing). Northrop Grumman were responsible for the integration of the various

electro-optical Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the pr ...

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

and communications relay payloads onto the airship.

Operational requirements

Requirements included the capability to operate at above mean sea level, a radius of action, and a 21-day on-station availability, provide up to 16 kilowatts of electrical power for payload, be runway independent and carry several different sensors at the same time. According to the U.S. Army, the LEMV was to have been a recoverable and reusable multi-mission platform. It could be forward located to support extended

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

operations from austere locations and capable of beyond-line-of-sight command and control. The developmental prototype emerged as the HAV 304, a

-filled airship with twin conjoined hulls having a total internal capacity of . With an overall length of , the airship was longer than any contemporary rivals. However, several mid-20th century airships were longer: for example the German ''Hindenburg''-class airships were long. The "largest-ever" non-rigid airship, the U.S. Navy's

ZPG-3W The N-Class, or as popularly known, the "Nan ship", was a line of non-rigid airships built by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of Akron, Ohio for the US Navy. This line of airships was developed through many versions and assigned various designa ...

1950s-era military airborne early warning airship, was longer at and larger with a envelope capacity. Operationally, the LEMV was intended to be typically flown autonomously or as a remotely operated aircraft; for being transported to theatres of operation or within normal civil airspace, the airship can also be flown by onboard operators. According to Northrop's projections, one LEMV could provide the equivalent work of 15 fixed-wing medium-altitude aircraft. The LEMV was intended to be capable of a wide variety of roles, including enhanced ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities, beyond-line-of-sight communications and

collection. It would integrate with existing ground station command centres and equipment used by ground troops in forward operating bases, making its data available to multiple users and analysts and reducing the information shortfall during operations. Airlander - On Mast at Sunrise

The LEMV would be able to operate, like a helicopter, from small forward bases. Its operating cost and endurance were expected to be better than other surveillance options. The airship could serve as a steady communications relay, ensuring that groups of soldiers in mountainous areas would never lose contact with one another, even if they do not have direct line of sight to each other. The LEMV could have tracked important convoys, key roadways, or other key infrastructure as semi-permanent overwatch escorts, monitor an urban area of interest to prepare for major battles or enforce security, or focus on shutting down border chokepoints. The LEMV would have enabled the American DoD to fly the most technologically advanced payloads in the near term as they became available.

Airlander 10 conversion

Following cancellation of the LEMV project, the deflated HAV 304 was repurchased by HAV, returned to the UK and hangared at Cardington Airfield. There it was reassembled, refurbished and modified for a more general role; accordingly, the aircraft was no longer an example of the HAV 304 design, having been rebuilt into the Airlander 10 prototype instead. The Airlander 10 is designed primarily for civilian use. However it can, like the HAV 304, be fitted for a wide variety of defence roles.

Design

Overview

The HAV 304 / Airlander 10 is a hybrid airship, achieving lift, and thereby flight, via both aerostatic and

forces. Unlike most airship designs, it does not have a circular cross-section, having adopted an elliptical shape with a contoured and flattened hull. This shaping is deliberate so that it acts as a

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage ...

, contributing aerodynamic lift while the airship is in forward motion; generating up to half of the airship's lift in a similar manner to that of a conventional fixed-wing aeroplane.

Buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the ...

is also provided by

contained within the envelope, the pressure from which maintains the airship's unique shape, between 60 percent and 80 percent of the aircraft's weight is supported by the lighter-than-air helium. The Airlander 10 is equipped with a set of

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located and ...

skids that are designed to let the airship land and take off from a wide variety of terrain, as well as from water. The Airlander 10 is capable of staying aloft for five days while crewed, and over two weeks while unmanned. The type had the potential for various civil and military applications; these include transportation purposes, conducting aerial surveillance, acting as a communications relay, supporting disaster relief operations, and various passenger services such as leisure flights and luxury VIP duties. Many of these duties could involve different configurations of the airship's mission module to suit. Northrop also said the LEMV could be used as a cargo aircraft, claiming that it had enough buoyancy to haul of cargo at . According to HAV, the design would allow operators to choose among trade-offs between endurance and cargo capacity, carrying up to a maximum of of cargo.

Flight deck and controls

The Airlander 10 possesses a sizeable flight deck with four large floor-to-ceiling windows, providing a high level of external visibility. While the airship had originally been envisioned to be unmanned, HAV adopted an optionally piloted approach as a result of customer interest in such operations. In 2015, positions for a single pilot and an observer had been installed in the Airlander 10; HAV intend to adopt a twin-pilot configuration along with a greater prevalence of

glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous ...

-style controls and instrumentation in the future. The airship is controlled by a

side-stick __NOTOC__ A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equi ...

mounted on the right-hand side, somewhat resembling that of a

rotorcraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...

; there are no

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

pedals, the side-stick being automatically slaved to the vanes instead. Garmin-built avionics furnish the cockpit; the suite includes a

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...

system that enables the pilot to view the otherwise-distant engines. The propulsion units and flying surfaces are both connected to the

via fly-by-optics, using

optical fibre An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

cables to efficiently cope with the vast scale of the vehicle. The pilot's controls are various

switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

es and

potentiometer A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. The measuring instrum ...

s, which are connected to the

Flight Control System A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft ...

to produce digital signals encoded into light pulses by one of three FCS-Masters and transmitted to the appropriate FCS-Satellite(s) located around the vehicle. These 11 FCS-Satellites then connect electrically to the appropriate equipment including flying surface actuators, engine controls, Secondary Power Distributors etc. Outputs from these various units also take the return path back to the flight deck via the

to provide feedback to the pilot on engine conditions, flying surface positions, Secondary Power conditions etc. Transitioning between the vehicle's multiple modes of flight is regulated directly by the flight control system, enabling the vehicle to be operated locally, remotely or in an unmanned configuration. According to HAV, the designing of the flight control regime was eased by the natural pendulum stability of the airship.

Structure

The hull of the airship comprises a skin made of triple-layered combination of

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

s. The skin keeps in the gas, and provides rigidity so the craft retains its shape when inflated. The four engines, fins and the flight deck are attached directly upon it. Materials used include Vectran,

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

Tedlar Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or –(CH2CHF)n– is a polymer material mainly used in the flammability-lowering coatings of airplane interiors and photovoltaic module backsheets. It is also used in raincoats and metal sheeting. Polyvinyl fluoride is a ...

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from ...

, and

Mylar BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and a ...

; the Mylar layer, enveloped within polyurethane film layers, forms the airship's gas barrier. The Airlander 10 only has diaphragms and ballonets (see below) as internal framework; weight from the payload module is distributed across every frame via cables running across and into the hull as well. According to HAV's Technical Director Mike Durham, the entirety of the airship's structural strength is derived from being inflated to just above atmospheric pressure with a 4-in water gauge pressure (around 0.15 psi, 1 kPa, or 1% of a standard atmosphere) differential; this strength is due to the diameter of the vessel despite the relatively-low pressure differential. The hull is internally divided by

diaphragm Diaphragm may refer to: Anatomy * Thoracic diaphragm, a thin sheet of muscle between the thorax and the abdomen * Pelvic diaphragm or pelvic floor, a pelvic structure * Urogenital diaphragm or triangular ligament, a pelvic structure Other * Diap ...

s into a total of six main compartments with additional sub-divisions; these divisions can be sealed in the event of emergencies, such as battle damage being sustained, allowing for the majority of the airship's helium, and thereby lift capacity, to be retained. Ballonets are housed within these compartments in order to regulate gas pressure; these are inflated on the ground to increase density and reduce lift. Air and helium are not allowed to mix in the ballonets, thus enabling each to be furnished with valves and fans in order to increase and decrease air volume independently; this approach is claimed by HAV to be unique to the airship. According to estimates performed by Northrop, the biggest foreseen threat to the HAV 304 is adverse weather conditions, such as high winds or thunderstorms, that could buffet the craft. The threat posed by windy conditions is in part due to its vast surface area in comparison to most aircraft; in particular, ground operations are more difficult in such conditions, but not thought to reach the extent of becoming impossible. According to HAV chief test pilot David Burns, the danger from

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

s was relatively low as they can pass through the airship without forcing it down. The skin is reportedly capable of handling

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

fire and other causes of tears due to a level of built-in redundancy and the relatively-low pressure difference between the inside and outside of the hull.

Propulsion

The Airlander 10 is powered by a total of four Thielert Centurion V8

s which drive sets of three-bladed ducted propellers to provide the thrust for both flight and manoeuvring. These engines are positioned in pairs, one set being located towards the rear of the airship, while the other are positioned alongside the sides of the forward fuselage, mounted on stub wings. Each engine is furnished with a generator, which provides electrical power for the airship and its mission systems. The assembly for each of the side-mounted engines can be pivoted 20 degrees in either direction, vectoring the thrust to provide flight control, particularly during landing and taking off; the rear-mounted engines are fixed. By employing thrust vectoring, the engines can direct their thrust downwards to provide additional lift during takeoff. A series of four triangular-shaped variable vanes are positioned behind the engines to provide further control authority by re-directing thrust from the rear engines over the tail fins. While cruising at altitude, propulsion can be switched to a more efficient electric drive fed from the airship's central generator. Due to the hybrid aerostatic/aerodynamic lift approach, fuel can be expended without entering a state of positive buoyancy that would necessitate routine helium venting in order to land, a costly weakness present upon conventional airships. Fuel is primarily contained within the main fuel module housing up to nine tons of fuel; the main tank is supplemented by separate rear and forward tanks, containing up to . To optimise cruising efficiency, the angle of incidence can be adjusted by pumping fuel between the fore and aft tanks.

Operational history

The LEMV project and the HAV 304

On 14 June 2010, the agreement for the development of the project was signed between the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Northrop Grumman. The agreement also included options for procuring two additional airships. The timeline for LEMV was an 18-month schedule starting in June 2010 that included vehicle inflation at about month 10. Additional operational characterization would have occurred at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in month 16. The project cost between $154 million and $517 million, dependent on all options. The cost included the design, development, and testing of the airship system within an 18-month time period, followed by transport to Afghanistan for military assessment. Throughout development, technological challenges and multiple delays were encountered. In October 2011, aerospace publication ''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's olde ...

'' reported that the LEMV was scheduled to conduct its first flight in November 2011, three months later than originally planned. According to media reports, the first flight of the LEMV was rescheduled in early June 2012; however, unspecified problems again delayed the flight until August 2012. The LEMV required at least of runway (violating the runway-independent requirement), and a tether point with a clear flat area around on which to park, which prevented them from operating at most large bases and all small bases. On 7 August 2012 the LEMV, carrying US Army registration 09-009, conducted its

over Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The flight lasted 90 minutes and was performed with a crew on board, being flown by Chief Test Pilot David Burns. The first flight primary objective was to perform a safe launch and recovery with a secondary objective to verify the flight control system operation. Additional first flight objectives included airworthiness testing and demonstration, and system level performance verification. At this point, the combat deployment of the LEMV to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

was projected to occur in early 2013. Two months after the test flight, the US Army stated that it had concerns about sending the airship abroad; these included safety, transportation to the theatre of operations, and the timeline of deployment. The US Army had planned to demonstrate the first LEMV in Afghanistan 18 months after the signing of the contract; at one point, proposals included plans to construct a further five airships following mission completion. In October 2012, the

Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal gover ...

(GAO) stated that the LEMV project was 10 months behind schedule due to a combination of factors, including issues with fabric production, foreign components being cleared through

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

, and the impact of adverse weather conditions. On 14 February 2013, the US Army confirmed that it had cancelled the LEMV development effort. In a statement made by a US Army Space and Missile Defense Command spokesperson, the cancellation was a result of technical and performance challenges that had been encountered, as well as resource constraints that had come into effect.Carey, Bill
"U.S. Army Cancels LEMV Surveillance Airship."
''AIN Online'', 22 February 2013. Practical and theoretical knowledge gained was redirected from the LEMV to the

JLENS The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS (colloquially, Spy Balloon), was a tethered aerial detection system designed to track boats, ground vehicles, cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft (air ...

program.

Reacquisition and the Airlander 10 prototype

The US Army believed that the project's technical data and computer software could be useful for future projects but that selling it would save money.Army lets air out of battlefield spyship project
– LAtimes.com, 23 October 2013 Hybrid Air Vehicles expressed an interest in purchasing the airship, saying they wanted to use it for cold-weather flights and other testing for the development of their proposed "Airlander 50" 50-ton cargo airship. The HAV offer included the basic avionics, mooring masts and spare engines but not the specialist equipment or helium. With this the only offer on the table, in September 2013 the Pentagon sold the LEMV airship back to HAV for $301,000. The deflated airship was returned to the UK, where it underwent reassembly and modification as the Airlander 10 prototype at Cardington Airfield.Page, Lewis.
Massive new AIRSHIP to enter commercial service at British dirigible base
''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

'', 3 March 2014. Accessed: 8 March 2014. In April 2014, HAV announced that it was forming an industry team with Selex ES and QinetiQ to develop and demonstrate the sensor capabilities of the Airlander 10, and that a three-month demonstration period for the UK's Ministry of Defence has been planned. One suggested use is as a mother ship for launching multiple UAVs.Stephenson, Beth
"Selex ES and HAV to team up for MoD airship testing."
''Flight International'', 12 April 2016. In April 2014, it was announced that both the

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

(EASA) and the UK's

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

(CAA) had approved the necessary permissions for Airlander 10 to return to flight. At one point, HAV had intended for the airship to have completed reassembly and be ready for test flights by December 2014; however, delays were encountered while additional financing from commercial and government entities was being sought. The project received both UK and EU funding to support the airship's further development, totalling £7 million by March 2016.

Crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by cro ...

from members of the general public also raised £2.1 million. Re-registered as G-PHRG, on 21 March 2016 the fully assembled Airlander 10 was publicly unveiled; at this point, HAV announced that the type would be offered for both civil and military use in the future. The Airlander 10 is also to serve as a prototype for an even larger version of the airship, referred to as the ''Airlander 50''. According to reports, several military customers have shown interest in potential uses for the type, including in a projected unmanned configuration. Named the ''Martha Gwyn'' after the company chairman's wife, the airship has become popularly known as "the flying bum" for "the resemblance its plump front end shares with a human's back end." On 17 August 2016, the first test flight took place at the aircraft's home base, Cardington Airfield in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and lasted 30 minutes. During the final approach to its mooring mast at the end of its second test flight on 24 August 2016, the airship's mooring rope became entangled in wires and the nose hit the ground, damaging the cockpit. The crew were unharmed. The Airlander 10 was repaired and fitted with inflatable "feet" designed to be deployable in 15 seconds, to protect the cockpit in an emergency landing. It resumed flight testing on 10 May 2017. On 13 June 2017, during its fourth test flight, the Airlander reached an altitude of . On 18 November 2017, the airship broke free from its moorings in a high wind, automatically pulling a safety rip panel so that it deflated and fell to the ground. Two people received minor injuries. In January 2019 it was announced that the aircraft had enabled sufficient data to be gathered to complete its test and certification programme, and would be retired.

Airlander 10 production version

Following the prototype tests flights, the Airlander 10 received

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to another party * Clean Air Act, United States law to reduce air ...

Production Organisation Approval and

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

Design Organisation Approval. As of January 2020 the company is planning to manufacture a batch of certified, production standard Airlander 10 hybrid airships. Compared to the prototype they are planned to feature reduced aerodynamic drag, improved landing gear and a larger payload cabin. HAV estimate the footprint per passenger on Airlander 10 will be about 4.5 kg, compared with about 53 kg per passenger on a jet plane. In February 2022 it was reported that production of the Airlander would be moved to South Yorkshire.

Orders and reservations

In June 2022, Spanish airline

Air Nostrum Air Nostrum, legally incorporated as ''Air Nostrum Líneas Aéreas del Mediterráneo, S.A.'', is a Spanish regional airline based in Valencia. It currently operates as a franchisee of Iberia as Iberia Regional and an affiliate member of the On ...

announced that they had placed a reservation for ten airships, with delivery scheduled for 2026.

Technical specifications

HAV 304

Source: * Length: * Width: * Height: * Envelope: * Engines: four × , 4 L

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced indu ...

V8 diesel

Airlander 10

References

External links

*
"The new vehicle set to revolutionise the skies"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

, 4 January 2011
"Airlander 10: is this the dawning of a new age of the airship?"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 17 August 2016
Airlander 10 crash lands at Cardington following its second test flight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Abandoned military projects of the United States Airships of the United Kingdom Airships of the United States Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles Science and technology in Bedfordshire United States military reconnaissance aircraft