Posted on 04/18/2014 6:49:10 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
....“The technological problems with airships that have stopped them ruling the skies have been gradually ticked off,” says Mr. Durham, technical director of Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), which makes the Airlander.” Advances in materials, avionics and aerodynamic design mean that we have overcome the lion’s share of these obstacles. This craft is part airship, part aircraft and part hovercraft. We have taken the best aspects of each machine and combined them in one hyper-efficient vehicle. Let me tell you, this isn’t the Hindenburg.”...
A future design called Airlander 50 will lift 50 tons of cargo, five times more than a Chinook helicopter, but costing less. And while a typical military helicopter needs two days of maintenance out of every seven, the Airlander requires one day a month. The new airship is also friendly to the environment, doing the same job as a conventional aircraft on a quarter of the fuel....
The Americans pumped pounds 60 million into the business after the airship was selected as a surveillance platform, intended to loiter for weeks at a time over Afghanistan, providing constant coverage of the battlefield.
The Airlander first flew in 2012 in America, but trials ceased when the programme fell victim to the sequestration crisis on Capitol Hill and was cancelled....
The Airlander’s hull is made from super-strong fibres developed for the sails of America’s Cup yachts. A four-inch-wide strip can support a family car. “Materials technology had to come of age before you could make this kind of aircraft,” says Mr. Durham. “Vectran, which is one of the materials we use, is similar to Kevlar.”....
“In the extremely unlikely event it lost all its engines, the effect would be rather less dramatic than on a Boeing 747 — it would simply glide down to earth.”....
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
Frankly, I cannot lie. Heck I like big butts, I’ll admit. Maybe I’ll write an iconic rap about my attraction to them.
My girlfriend (Becky) doesn’t understand. She never understands us rap guys.
This girl definitely has an Oakland booty (LA face though).
I hear ya. When it comes to females, Cosmo aint’ got nothing to do with my selection.
He IS Iron Maiden’s front man. They are currently on a world tour.
Chuck Norris Dreams of being Bruce Dickinson
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