The Worlds Longest Aircraft....The HAV304 Airlander
Discussion
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenertransport/...
World's largest aircraft unveiled and hailed 'game changer'
The world's longest aircraft, consisting of part airship, part helicopter and part plane, has been unveiled and could be the key to greener more efficient planes in future as developers predict one day there could be as many of the hybrids as there are helicopters today
The world’s largest aircraft which can stay airborne for up to three weeks and will be vital in delivering several tonnes of humanitarian aid as well as transporting heavy freight across the world, has been unveiled.
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter, and there are plans to eventually use it to transport hundreds of tonnes of freight across difficult terrain throughout the world as well as deliver aid to risky areas.
It is environmentally friendly, being part airship filled with inert helium, and will also be used for surveillance and communications. Developers hope to make more of the 'green vehicles' which they hope to make capable of taking off from land, water, desert, ice and fields.
It will eventually lead to the development of the Airlander 50, which would be able to transport 50 tonnes of freight and burn a quarter the amount of fuel of a plane doing the same job. This craft will be even bigger, with plans to make it 390ft long (119m), 196 ft wide (60m) amd 115ft (35ft) high - making it taller than both Big Ben, which reaches 315 ft (96m) and the Statue of Liberty which towers to 305 ft (93m.)
Plans for this hybrid also include fitting two hovercraft type vehicles to the bottom so it is capable of landing on water. There will also be space for 50 passengers on board.
Stephen McGlennan, chief executive, said: "This Government support shows that HAV has a credible way of solving one of the aerospace industry's key challenges - creating a viable low-carbon aircraft which can travel for days and for thousands of miles without refuelling, landing without the need for airports.
"It is a great story of a British company leading the world."
World's largest aircraft unveiled and hailed 'game changer'
The world's longest aircraft, consisting of part airship, part helicopter and part plane, has been unveiled and could be the key to greener more efficient planes in future as developers predict one day there could be as many of the hybrids as there are helicopters today
The world’s largest aircraft which can stay airborne for up to three weeks and will be vital in delivering several tonnes of humanitarian aid as well as transporting heavy freight across the world, has been unveiled.
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter, and there are plans to eventually use it to transport hundreds of tonnes of freight across difficult terrain throughout the world as well as deliver aid to risky areas.
It is environmentally friendly, being part airship filled with inert helium, and will also be used for surveillance and communications. Developers hope to make more of the 'green vehicles' which they hope to make capable of taking off from land, water, desert, ice and fields.
It will eventually lead to the development of the Airlander 50, which would be able to transport 50 tonnes of freight and burn a quarter the amount of fuel of a plane doing the same job. This craft will be even bigger, with plans to make it 390ft long (119m), 196 ft wide (60m) amd 115ft (35ft) high - making it taller than both Big Ben, which reaches 315 ft (96m) and the Statue of Liberty which towers to 305 ft (93m.)
Plans for this hybrid also include fitting two hovercraft type vehicles to the bottom so it is capable of landing on water. There will also be space for 50 passengers on board.
Stephen McGlennan, chief executive, said: "This Government support shows that HAV has a credible way of solving one of the aerospace industry's key challenges - creating a viable low-carbon aircraft which can travel for days and for thousands of miles without refuelling, landing without the need for airports.
"It is a great story of a British company leading the world."
Well let me see...
2) What does 'inert' have to do with it? Oxygen is very 'environmentally friendly' and is highly reactive.
This is a good example of text which looks superficially 'woo' being patent b
ks. Reduced to the 'green' debate and poor Africans is just admitting it has no real justification.
y2blade said:
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter
I suppose 'helicopter' is when you turn the props upward, but which part is the plane?y2blade said:
as well as deliver aid to risky areas.
I see a very big, very slow target. A myopic monkey with an RPG could hit it.y2blade said:
It is environmentally friendly, being part airship filled with inert helium
1) How much carbons are burned to make helium?2) What does 'inert' have to do with it? Oxygen is very 'environmentally friendly' and is highly reactive.
This is a good example of text which looks superficially 'woo' being patent b
ks. Reduced to the 'green' debate and poor Africans is just admitting it has no real justification.Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 28th February 22:43
Simpo Two said:
y2blade said:
It is environmentally friendly, being part airship filled with inert helium
1) How much carbons are burned to make helium?2) What does 'inert' have to do with it? Oxygen is very 'environmentally friendly' and is highly reactive.
2) It's important for an aircraft because you don't need to worry about it exploding, burning or corroding anything in the containment systems. That, and no matter how big an airship you build you don't have to worry if it bursts.
Problem is Helium is a precious resource - if you leak it into the atmosphere it simply blows away into space. The universe has a s
tload of Helium, but the Earth isn't heavy enough to keep hold of it. If we start running out it's a very serious problem for scientific work, MRI scanners etc.Krikkit said:
2) It's important for an aircraft because you don't need to worry about it exploding, burning or corroding anything in the containment systems.
Agreed, but the implication was that its inertness made it 'environmentally friendly', which is one of those 2+2=3 statements.'This machine gun is environmentally friendly, would you like to buy it?' 'Oh yes please!' In short, add it on to anything you wish to sell. My photography is environmentally friendly because it doesn't use film so is sustainable and doesn't exploit child workers in silver mines. Order now before you realise I'm talking crap
Simpo Two said:
Well let me see...
From the shape I guess it's a lifting body. Helium supply for these things is a concern if they are looking to build as many as the blurb portrays; nuclear reactors are the only way of making the stuff from scratch.y2blade said:
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter
I suppose 'helicopter' is when you turn the props upward, but which part is the plane?hidetheelephants said:
Simpo Two said:
Well let me see...
From the shape I guess it's a lifting body. Helium supply for these things is a concern if they are looking to build as many as the blurb portrays; nuclear reactors are the only way of making the stuff from scratch.y2blade said:
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter
I suppose 'helicopter' is when you turn the props upward, but which part is the plane?Hooli said:
V41LEY said:
For its size it seems to have hardly any lifting capacity - about the weight of my Chimaera ? Or about 15 adults I read.
That's always been the problem with airships & it got worse when they changed to helium rather than hydrogen.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff