a Huge airship Airlander 10 will be equipped with hybrid power plant. He has already put into production, according to the manufacturer of this unique machine, the company Hybrid Air Vehicles.
the Airlander 10 has a length of 92 meters, making it the largest existing aircraft in the world. However, in size he is far from the historical record of the first half of the twentieth century. Recall that the length of the “Count Zeppelin” was 237 metres and the “Hindenburg” – 245 meters.
However, these airships were filled with flammable hydrogen, which led to the terrible disaster of the “Hindenburg” in 1937, and the ensuing decline of the era of Aeronautics. Meanwhile, shell Airlander 10 is filled with helium which does not burn and does not explode (although worth a lot more hydrogen).
To date, the prototype of the airship is equipped with four diesel engines with a capacity of 325 horsepower (242 kW). Two screws located aft of the aircraft and two on its sides in the front.
Now the front pair of engines will be replaced by motors with a capacity of 500 kW powered from batteries. If you wish Airlander 10 can do only one of the pairs of engines.
On a purely electric-powered airship will develop a cruising speed of 93 kilometers per hour and maximum flight distance will be 350 miles. The use of diesel engines in addition to electric will increase cruise speed to 130 kilometers per hour.
a New airship capable of carrying up to 10 tons of payload. The developers plan to use it for passenger transport. According to their calculations, on-Board and can accommodate 90 passengers. Flight over a distance of 200 km will take approximately two hours. While emissions are 90% less than in the same flight. In addition, machine engines produce much less noise.
By the way, Airlander 10 does not require special runways and is able to hold in the air for five days in a row (although it is unlikely the latter will be useful in passenger flights).
Manufacturers hope that the first production instance of the aircraft will rise into the air in the middle of the 2020-ies.
note that blimps tend not to turn and struggle to the wind. In addition, their slow-moving uncomfortable on routes with a length of thousands of kilometers. So do not expect that these ships of the sky ever to replace the aircraft. In the best case they make slightly to make room for small aircraft.
By the way, before “News.Science” wrote about a blimp with a very unusual principle of motion.
Text: To.Science
