Oblong, equipped with fins at its peak and on its sides, the airship looks like a large white shark. The production of this machine, called Airlander 10, will start by 2027 in a factory under construction in Doncaster, in Yorkshire, announced, at the end of 2024, the company Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). It plans to produce 24 per year, with a commissioning planned for 2029. A prototype has already made six test flights.
With a length of 98 meters, each airship can transport 100 passengers or 10 tonnes of freight, travel at a maximum speed of 130 km/h, depending on the company founded in 2010. Equipped with four V8 engines, the airship draws 60 % of its lift from the helium contained in the trilauminated envelope which surrounds a shell of almost 92 meters, it details on its website.
This allows Airlander 10, which can stay in the air for five days and is moving to a simple mast, to consume 75 % of CO2 In less than an airliner, according to HAV. By 2030, the company says it wants to develop an electric version, supplied with hydrogen, which would reduce its carbon footprint by 90 %.
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Source: Lemonde