
Massive new aircraft the Airlander 10 is unveiled - jonbaer
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/21/airlander-10-hybrid-airship-unveiled-bedfordshire
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kitd
A bit OT but the hangars at Cardington are amazing.

You see them in the distance and you think "oh that's interesting", then you
realise they're a lot further in the distance than you first thought, and you
think "bloody hell! They're massive!"

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dkarp
if you like big hangars, the old CargoLifter Hangar[1] near Berlin, Germany is
also amazing. Even more amazing since they went bankrupt and it was converted
into a tropical island resort[2] where you can go to sun bathe in the icy
Berlin winters.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CargoLifter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CargoLifter)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Islands_Resort](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Islands_Resort)

~~~
walrus01
original purpose: building a giant airship

new purpose: pasty white germans eating barbecued sausage and drinking beer on
a fake tropical beach

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dewarrn1
Very cool! I've always been fascinated by lighter-than-air vehicles, and I'm
excited to see that the technology is still being developed. For anyone who's
interested, the history of the field is littered with odd false starts, such
as the US Navy's (now long defunct) LAV fleet circa 1920 [0].

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shenandoah_%28ZR-1%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shenandoah_%28ZR-1%29)

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walshemj
Nice just down the road from me about 18 months ago I did a spec job
application to them.

Might tale the day off work to see her fly for the first time.

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Animats
It should work, but what is it for? For "surveillance", a small drone is far
more cost effective.

And how much helium does it leak per week? That's what killed Airship
Ventures, Silicon Valley's airship. The price of helium doubled.

~~~
fudged71
It has the same cost as ice-trucking in the arctic without the risks.

Edit: Okay, Transport is the purpose of the Lockheed craft. This craft,
however, eludes me... they're pitching it for sensing/telecommunications
purposes.

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Someone1234
This article has more details:

[http://www.blimpinfo.com/airships/hybrid-hopes-an-inside-
loo...](http://www.blimpinfo.com/airships/hybrid-hopes-an-inside-look-at-the-
airlander-10-airship/)

~~~
ChuckMcM
With the exception that it is from 2015, and the "news" is that its almost
ready to fly (see [http://gizmodo.com/our-first-look-at-airlander-10-the-
larges...](http://gizmodo.com/our-first-look-at-airlander-10-the-largest-
aircraft-in-1766351092)). It was supposed to start air trials in "early" 2016
and it looks like it won't miss that mark by too much.

~~~
ChuckMcM
And on a related note, it would be unsettling to see this: [http://i.kinja-
img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--FtZsEwdI...](http://i.kinja-
img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--FtZsEwdI--/x94cpbjzzwgwrtzzeyek.jpg)
coming down from the sky. Kudos to the photographer for getting the whole
front of the aircraft in the shot though.

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david-given
Anyone who remembers a particularly ludicrous TV SF series from the late 1990s
will immediately wonder if it can blow up planets:

[https://coubsecure-a.akamaihd.net/get/b89/p/coub/simple/cw_t...](https://coubsecure-a.akamaihd.net/get/b89/p/coub/simple/cw_timeline_pic/1956d8aa2ab/23fc32fad3b9da4b91e6b/big_1437132228_image.jpg)

~~~
jacobush
Something... awful.

