The Airlander 10, which cost £25million to build over 10 years, is 92 meters long and pumped with a million cubic feet of helium.
The part-plane, part-airship left its hangar in Cardington, Bedfordshire at 4am today to commence a brief series of ground systems tests before its first flight later this month.
- The 302-feet-long craft was originally developed as part of a US Army project which was then abandoned in 2012
- A British company has converted the aircraft – a cross between an airship and an aeroplane – for civilian use
- It will fly to 4,000 feet at speeds of up to 46 mph in a series of six test flights above Cardington, Bedfordshire
- The ‘Flying Bum’ can carry 48 passengers and is designed to be flown by remote control for up to three weeks
Why is it called flying bum ? because of Kim Kardashian
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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