Although Hybrid Air Vehicles have
made no official announcement, UK
media reports in early February
suggest that the AIRLANDER 10
could fly as early as March 2016.
There is an old and very true adage
in aviation ‘The closer you get, the
longer it takes’ which refers to the
myriad of detailed work that has to
be completed before an aircraft can
fly – even though the aircraft is sat
there and to the untrained eye looks
for all intent and purposes complete,
there are still hundreds of small jobs
to complete before she is finally
‘ready to go’. So, for those of us
waiting expectantly for the first flight
the watch word is patience, the team
at HAV are experienced and
professional and the ship will roll out
and fly when the time is right.
When the AIRLANDER does get
airborne it will be the end of an
extraordinary two years since the
hybrid airship arrived at Cardington,
in a set of massive crates, following
its time as a US Army project.
The hull and hardware arrived in
December 2014. The hull was reinflated with air, given an initial
inspection, and made its first ‘public
the future. That positive media
coverage continues to this day, and
can be expected to increase
dramatically when the vehicle flies.
In April 2014, HAV had applied to
EASA, the European Aviation Safety
Agency, for Design Organisation
appearance’ on the BBC in February
2015. The extensive media coverage
that followed gave an indication of
the high level of interest the
AIRLANDER would, and continues
to generate. Most important of all,
the focus of the vast majority of the
media has been on a new, modern
technology with great benefits for
Approval and established a clear path
to all necessary approvals and
certification of the organisation and
aircraft. EASA (working with the
Civil Aviation Authority) is the