Airlander gets new enhancements

 The Airlander 10 airhsip will get two new enhancements following the heavy landing incident on 24 Aug 2016 that damaged the flight deck...

 The Airlander 10 airhsip will get two new enhancements following the heavy landing incident on 24 Aug 2016 that damaged the flight deck in the belly.

The airship is now equipped with a new Auxiliary Landing System and a Mobile Mooring Mast that will make Airlander easier to manoeuvre and safer to land.

The Auxiliary Landing System (ALS) allows the aircraft to land safely at a greater range of landing angles. This is a pilot-deployable two airbag landing system, which the pilot can deploy as an extra cushion to land on.

The Auxiliary Landing System airbag inflated

The airbags are over 3 meters in length and contain 15 m³ gas (less than 0.1% of the entire hull volume). There is an airbag on each side of the Flight Deck, which offers enhanced protection to the cabin and Flight Deck.

It will be deployed on most landings in the flight test program. It uses the existing ballonet fans to inflate, and takes under 20 seconds to be ready for use.

The MMM is an integrated tracked vehicle and mooring mast, which makes it much easier to control and ”push back” the Airlander when manoeuvering it around the airfield. It has a single pivot interface with the Airlander, so makes a much simpler mechanism than we previously had.

The mobile mooring system with the tracked vehicle.

The UK based Hybrid Air Vehicles expect to take the Airlander out of the Hangar during April and restart flight testing soon. The landing incident happened on its second test flight, and is dubbed the slowest air crash in the world.

Hybrid Air Vehicles is in the final stages of an £8 million equity financing raise from its existing shareholders, which has gone very well and is already well over half way to completion.

The helium filled airship can takeover roles like sight seeing, cargo transportation and surveillance. The wing shaped hull of the Airlander provides 60 percent buoyant lift naturally. It is powered by four thrust vectorable 350 hp V8 diesel engines, fitted two each on forward and aft.

The airship was first unveiled in August 2016 and completed maiden flight on 18 August.