Onwards and upwards

The US Federal Aviation Administration has officially approved the Pathfinder 1 airship, which is approximately 122 meters high. The permit was reportedly granted last month and allows the massive aircraft to fly at altitudes of up to 1,500 feet (457 meters).

The flight is planned to be made over the south side of the bay in San Francisco, USA. There, the airship will not interfere with aircraft “arriving at or departing from San Jose and San Francisco International Commercial Airports.”

This is a major step forward for the humanitarian ship project, which aims to make it a very light and effective vehicle for delivering large amounts of cargo and rescue personnel to hard-to-reach disaster areas.

Airship LTA It is equipped with 12 electric motors and four rudders. Its frame is made of Lightweight materials such as carbon fibers and titanium. This makes it light enough to fly only on non-flammable helium, as opposed to explosive hydrogen.

In its filing with the FAA, the startup wrote: “The Pathfinder 1 experimental flight test program aims to demonstrate and establish the limits of airship flight”He added that there was an expected plan. “It was designed to include significant indoor and outdoor ground testing, using a ramp approach to gradually increase flight limits.”.

After the airship completes test flights in California, Pathfinder 1 is scheduled to head to the Goodyear Airdock hangar in Akron, Ohio, IEEE said. an even larger airship, approximately 600 meters long, is currently under construction.

It’s a fascinating vision of the future of transportation: not only is it potentially more efficient than traditional, high-emission cargo planes, but it also looks pretty cool.