The world's longest airship will become fully electric

Hybrid Air Vehicles is known asthe creator of the world's largest airship Airlander 10, whose prototype was discontinued in early 2019. This happened because of its too high cost and the desire of the manufacturer to develop a serial model to perform not only military but also civilian tasks. Recently, the company finally received a grant of $ 1.4 million and announced that the final version of the huge airship will be completely electric and safe for the environment.

The money was provided by Collins.Aerospace and the University of Nottingham to create a fully electric propulsion unit with a power of 500 kilowatts. The abandonment of diesel propulsion will be the first step towards creating an electric giant. Due to its aerodynamic properties and a large amount of helium, the new version of the Airlander 10 will consume much less energy than similar machines with the same power.

According to Hybrid CEOSteven McGlennan's Air Vechies, the project will bring humanity closer to the important goal of creating zero-carbon aviation. The development of an electric airship can take many years, but someday it will be suitable for a wide range of tasks. For example, it can be used to monitor certain regions of the planet, travel and transport goods.

The prototype of the Airlander 10 at one time made sixtest flights, two of which ended in accidents. The company reacted to them with ease, saying that they were experiencing a new type of aircraft, and during the development of such incidents may well arise.

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