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The Irish Sun

Luxury zeppelins of the future from ‘flying bum' world's largest aircraft to Google billionaire's ‘impossible' airship

NEARLY a century after zeppelins were largely abandoned, a handful of start-ups are trying to revive the airship for both cargo and passenger flights. Blimps were the biggest aircraft to ever take to the skies. Advertisement 7 Billionaire Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, is just one of the people trying to bring back the airship Credit: Getty 7 Brin's company LTA Research has created a 400ft "lighter than air" blimp-like vehicle - dubbed Pathfinder 1 Credit: LTA 7 It has been green lit to fly no higher than 1,500ft Credit: LTA But the tragic New zeppelins would be much safer, according to the companies wanting to rebuild the company. Pathfinder 1 Billionaire Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, is just one of the people trying to bring back the airship. Brin's company LTA Research has created a 400ft "lighter than air" blimp-like vehicle - dubbed Pathfinder 1 - which Advertisement It has been green lit to fly no higher than 1,500ft. The blimp reached another milestone in October last year - it's first untethered outdoor flight. Brin wants to turn these sky-giants into fuel-efficient cargo vessels. The Pathfinder 1 will use only non-flammable helium, as opposed to explosive hydrogen, making it cheaper to fly than planes fuel wise. Advertisement Most read in Tech These airships could one day carry up to 200 tons of cargo each, LTA CEO Alan Weston previously told Bloomberg. That is nearly ten times the amount a Boeing 737 can carry. Incredible plan for hypersonic 'Air Master' passenger plane that can hit 4,600mph & fly from London to NYC in 45 MINUTES Airships don't need a runway, enabling Brin to make his Pathfinder 1 something of a humanitarian project too. The airship aims to be incredibly light but with a lot of space for cargo, making it an efficient means of delivering large amounts of aid and relief workers to difficult-to-access disaster zones. Advertisement 7 The German zeppelin, The Hindenberg, crashed to the ground after bursting into flames in 1937 Credit: AP:Associated Press What happened to the Hindenberg? On the second of its scheduled 1937 transatlantic crossings, the Hindenburg burst into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey. While the blimp was designed to be filled with helium, it was filled with hydrogen instead. This was due to US export restrictions on helium at the time. Hydrogen is extremely flammable. The official cause of the fire was due to a "discharge of atmospheric electricity" near a gas leak on the ship's surface, according to The incident killed 35 out of 96 passengers and one member of ground crew. A reflexive fear of hydrogen based vehicles began to spread among the public, in what has come to be known as 'Hindenberg syndrome', which largely brought an end to airship travel. 7 The 320ft Airlander 10, from UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), is part airship, part aeroplane Credit: Hybrid Air Vehicles 7 Airlander 10 has already seen commercial interest Credit: Hybrid Air Vehicles 'The flying bum' The 320ft Airlander 10, from UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), is part airship, part aeroplane. Advertisement Dubbed 'the flying bum' due to its unique shape, the Airlander 10 is expected to fly roughly 1,000 feet over cities. From 2030, the company behind the project hopes to build two dozen airships per year from its factory in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. HAV is hoping to revolutionise regional air travel with its airship. 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, HAV boss Tom Grundy has said previously. Advertisement Like Pathfinder 1, the Airlander will not need miles of tarmac runway far from city centres. "It doesn't have to be stuck to going between today's airports," according to Grundy. "It can go into different places. And yet it's faster than moving around the world over the surface. "It's faster than those ferry journeys. It can often be faster than a train journey, very often faster than a car journey. So providing this middle option." Advertisement Airlander 10 has already seen commercial interest. European regional airline Air Nostrum has said it will buy 20 Airlanders to carry passengers between Mediterranean islands. Luxury tour company Grands Espaces also wants the aircraft to take ferry passengers over the Arctic. With airships, weight is the key concern rather than volume - unlike planes. Advertisement Although this should mean there are more spacious seats for passengers, while luxury high-flyers could even each have double bedrooms. 7 French firm Flying Whales, backed by the French government, is working on a separate 656ft-long rigid airship known as the LCA60T Credit: Flying Whales Flying Whales France-based firm Flying Whales, backed by the French government, is working on a separate 656ft-long rigid airship known as the LCA60T. Designed for heavy load transport, the LCA60T will have a carrying capacity of 60 tons. Advertisement Read more on the Irish Sun Flying Whales raised €122million (£103million) to fund the project in 2022. It will bound through skies on helium, in combination with hydrogen fuel cells to cut CO2 emissions.