The airship company founded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin officially received a special airworthiness certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in early September this year. Currently, the helium airship Pathfinder 1 developed by the company will conduct test flights at Moffett Union Airport in Silicon Valley, California..
It is understood thatPathfinder1 is 124 meters long and has a rigid design made of 96 welded titanium nodes and 288 carbon fiber reinforced polymer tubes.It is the largest airship since the Hidenburg in the 1930s.
In order to further improve the safety of the airship, the airship also uses non-flammable helium as the lifting gas, which is safer and more reliable than previous hydrogen airships.
In terms of power, the airship uses a hybrid propulsion system, powered by two 150-kilowatt diesel generators and 24 batteries for electric motors.
Official data shows thatThe airship's cruising speed can reach 110 kilometers per hour, its maximum take-off weight is 28 tons, and its cruising range can reach 4,500 kilometers.
After completing flight testing in California, Pathfinder 1 will move to the former Goodyear Airship Factory airship hangar in Akron, Ohio, which has been acquired by LTA Corporation as its future manufacturing location.
There, a larger 180-meter-long airship, Pathfinder 3, is already under development.
Sergey Brin said in the interview:After Pathfinder1 is officially licensed, it will be used for humanitarian missions to transport people and supplies to areas that are inaccessible to traffic.