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SkyCat (a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "Sky
Catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
") is a class of proposed heavy-lift
hybrid airship A hybrid airship is a powered aircraft that obtains some of its lift as a lighter-than-air (LTA) airship and some from lift (force), aerodynamic lift as a Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, heavier-than-air aerodyne. A ''dynastat'' is a hy ...
s which derive more than half of their lift by
helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...
buoyancy and the balance via aerodynamic
lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
produced by aerodynamic shaping. The SkyCat design incorporates hover cushion technology in place of wheels, allowing craft to take off and land anywhere, including remote regions without need for airports or sophisticated forward based infrastructure. The SkyKitten, a 1/6 linear scale model of a SkyCat design was built and flown by Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) (now-defunct successor to
Airship Industries Airship Industries was a British manufacturers of modern non-rigid airships (blimps) active under that name from 1980 to 1990 and controlled for part of that time by Alan Bond. The first company, Aerospace Developments, was founded in 1970, and ...
) in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
at Cardington. "SkyFreighter" is the name given by the
Hybrid Air Vehicles Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) Limited is a British limited company and a British manufacturer of hybrid airships, though none have been built since the crash of its last demonstrator iNov 2017 These aircraft use both aerodynamics and lighter-than- ...
to one of its implementations of the SkyCat design. These are proposed to carry heavy-lift and ultra-heavy-lift cargo payloads from 50 tons net payload to as heavy as 1000 tons which may be a mix of outsized and/or containerized objects. The Skycat is almost impervious to light ordnance, such as automatic rifle or mortar fire, which will merely pass through the metallized PET film envelope without causing critical helium loss. SkyCat air vehicle developments are being pursued by at least one major aerospace company.
DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...
concluded their "
WALRUS The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...
" contract with industry to explore technology options that might be employed in such vehicles as SkyCat in CY-2006. ATG went into administration in 2005 having produced only one airship, the SkyCat. SkyCat Group was formed and bought ATG's operations. In turn Hybrid Air Vehicles of the UK was formed acquiring the assets of SkyCat Group in 2007 to continue development of the concept. Financial Times May 8, 2015 - Airship developers dare to return to the skies


See also

* EosXi * P-791 - a very similar aircraft from Lockheed-Martin


References


External links

* (archived link)
Webpage
describing visit to site with original photos {{Hybrid Air Vehicles Airship configurations Cargo aircraft