Airlander maker HAV scales up to build world’s biggest aircraft, which it says will have 90% lower emissions than a conventional plane.
HAV is now preparing to run the “scale up” gauntlet: going from an eye-catching first model to building a factory employing 1,200 people, and then making airships capable of transporting 10 tonnes of cargo, or up to 130 passengers, at up to 90mph.
For short plane journeys run by regional airlines, the costs of operation using an Airlander “are at or below the cost of what they’re operating today” with smaller passenger planes, he says.
Grundy has brought several aircraft from design to flight in a career that includes fighter jet manufacturer BAE Systems and work on the Airbus A380, at 73 metres another leviathan of the skies.
HAV is not the only company to spy a gap: France’s Flying Whales is hoping to build a dirigible for cargo only, while Lighter than Air Research (LTA) is focusing on humanitarian missions.
