World’s longest aircraft has begun maiden flight
Several weeks after it came out of its hangar, the world’s longest aircraft finally take it’s first flight.
Christened the Martha Gwyn, the aircraft was first developed for the US government as a surveillance aircraft but the project was shelved amid defense cutbacks.
Its original test flight on Sunday was postponed, but it finally left the ground at 19:40 BST.
Sunday’s attempt was dropped because of a “technical issue” which could not be resolved in time for a daylight flight.
The airship is not allowed to fly at night during the test stage.
On Wednesady, Airlander 10 rose slowly into the air from Cardington airfield, 45 miles (73 kilometers) north of London.
A hybrid of blimp, helicopter and airplane, it can stay aloft for days at a time and has been nicknamed the “flying bum” because of its bulbous front end.
The stately aircraft performed a circuit of the area — watched by hundreds of local people who had parked their cars around the perimeter of the airfield — before touching down about half an hour later as dusk fell.
The Airlander is designed to use less fuel than a plane, but carry heavier loads than conventional airships. Its developer, Hybrid Air Vehicles, says it can reach 16,000 feet (4,900 meters), travel at up to 90 mph (148 kph) and stay aloft for up to two weeks.
“It’s a great British innovation,” said chief executive Stephen McGlennan. “It’s a combination of an aircraft that has parts of normal fixed-wing aircraft, it’s got helicopter, it’s got airship.”
The aircraft was initially developed for the U.S. military, which planned to use it for surveillance in Afghanistan. The U.S. blimp program was scrapped in 2013 and since then Hybrid Air Vehicles, a small British aviation firm that dreams of ushering in a new era for airships, has sought funding from government agencies and individual donors.
The vast aircraft is based at Cardington, where the first British airships were built during and after World War I. That program was abandoned after a 1930 crash that killed almost 50 people, including Britain’s air minister.
Airlander 10 can also carry up to 10 metric tons (22,050 pounds) of passengers or cargo.