Airlander 10 Super Airship Fall (video)
As a result of the fall, the nose of the apparatus, where the cockpit is located, was seriously injured, but there were no casualties. According to the developers, "all crew members are alive and well."
The company also clarified that the flight itself was normal, problems arose during the approach. In addition, the company’s representative resolutely refuted the words of an eyewitness who claimed that the problems with the vessel had arisen after it had hurt a telegraph pole.
It was the second test flight of the airship.
“Initially, the Airlander 10 was developed by order of the US government. The project was opened in 2009 year. It was planned that the vessel will perform observational functions. However, the project was frozen amid cuts in the defense budget of the United States, and in 2013, the British company Hybrid Air Vehicles, which led all the development from the very beginning, bought out its project, ”the agency said.
According to the BBC, Airlander 10 is a hybrid aircraft that combines the three principles of aeronautics: a balloon, a helicopter, and a fixed-wing aircraft. The length of the flying hybrid is 92 meters. It can fly at an altitude of 4,9 kilometers at speeds up to 148 kilometers per hour and carry up to 10 tons of cargo. "
According to the developers, “in a manned flight mode, a ship can stay in the air for five days and three days - remotely controlled”. The cost of the hybrid is about £ 25 million (more than 2-x billion rubles).
For the corresponding form Airlander 10 got the nickname "Big Ass".
The company began work on returning the device to the sky last year. According to the developers, “the hybrid can perform the functions of observation, communication, provide assistance, and even carry passengers.” They promised to “bring to mind” the device to 2021.
However, most experts will not share the mindset of developers, and consider the project unpromising.
The head of Infomost, Boris Rybak: “Any balloon — be it a spherical balloon or a cucumber-like airship — has a common Achilles heel: extremely low controllability in flight and a small speed compared to aircraft. These two minuses bring to nothing the only advantage of the devices lighter than air - their higher payload compared to aircraft. "
- twitter.com, wikimedia.org
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