Ten years ago in August, an airship with a difference made its maiden flight from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. The main contractor for the Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) – a massive aerial surveillance platform developed by the US Army for Afghanistan – was Northrop Grumman, but the company behind the innovative design was an obscure British start-up. The company was Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV).
A few months later, the U.S. Army canceled the project and the structure, minus the classified equipment, was returned to the inventor. The Bedford-based HAV is the Airlander, a 91 m (300 ft) long airship that combines World War I-era lighter-than-air technology with aerodynamic lift and vectorized thrust. Spent 10 years trying to reboot the concept as 10.
The decade since LEMV has been a marathon mission for HAV. This included a huge fundraising effort involving dozens of enthusiastic investors, many publicity initiatives, and several flights of a prototype damaged beyond repair after his two hard landings. will be And finally, HAV is poised to begin production of the world’s largest aircraft this year, with its first customers lined up.
HAV has allocated the first three production units to an unnamed luxury tourism operator, while Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum has booked 10 slots. The company, which has “90%” of its suppliers on board, hopes to build “at least” 12 examples each year by 2028. said Chief Executive Officer Tom Grundy.
Moving from an R&D start-up to a mass-produced manufacturer requires a significant step up in funding. As well as convincing potential customers in the military, leisure and logistics sectors of the platform’s game-changing potential, Airbus and his former engineer at BAE Systems are doing their best work in 2019. It was the biggest job for his Grundy who took over. .
HAV is “building a large upfront investment program” to produce the Airlander 10 and support its entry into service. As part of that effort, the company will soon seek an initial public offering (IPO) or a merger with a listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This is the option chosen by many electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. Developer.
In 2021, HAV has secured its first major institutional investor, a company called Global Emerging Markets (GEM). GEM agreed that he would inject $200 million in exchange for about half of the company’s stake after the IPO. These funds will help HAV maintain production aircraft on its balance sheet and lease or charter to operators. This greatly expands the potential customer base, he says, Grundy.
While the 10t payload Airlander 10 certainly doesn’t fall into the eVTOL category, Grundy sees HAV as using innovative technology to offer a sustainable alternative to conventional aircraft in many markets. As such, we see it as part of the advanced air mobility movement that is emerging more broadly. He believes the Airlander 10’s environmental friendliness is its unique selling point.
Four kerosene-powered RED A03 engines from German piston specialist RED Aircraft will power the first production aircraft. However, soon after certification, HAV decided to replace his two units in the front with a pair of his 500 kW electric motors that Collins is developing to create a hybrid-electric version of the Airlander 10. are planning -Electric option.
At the Farnborough Air Show last July, Collins unveiled a prototype of the Airlander 10 motor. It is designed in collaboration with the University of Nottingham with funding from the UK Government’s Aerospace Research and Technology Programme. HAV aims to have the motor certified and ready for installation by 2026.
Because the Airlander 10 is kept aloft by a helium-filled hull and aerodynamic lift surfaces, the first aircraft will emit 75 percent less emissions than conventional aircraft with similar payloads, Grundy said. says. In the hybrid configuration it increases to 90% of his, and in the fully electric version it becomes “zero emissions”. Rivals may be faster, but the latter offers a range of 200 nm (370 km), he says, with a 10-ton payload.
The Doncaster plant, which HAV has shortlisted for two greenfield sites, has five assembly bays. Besides engines, there are two other important supply chains. One for the hull and one for a suspended compound cabin that can accommodate 100 passengers with airliner-style seating. HAV also unveiled a yacht-style interior concept with sleeping compartments.
Grundy admits that HAV’s schedule has shifted to the right several times since announcing the Airlander 10 certification plans in 2016. “But this is a big project and we set our sights high.
He hopes to build the first three test machines by 2025 and start production of customer examples in 2026. The company plans to reach its full capacity of 12 aircraft by 2028. In 2016 and his 2017, the approval process will be streamlined. “We have done a lot of work to reduce the risk of flight testing, including in regulatory areas.”
Although its predecessor emerged for specific military missions, HAV has always envisioned a wide range of uses for the Airlander 10. This ranges from goods carriers that can access remote areas such as mines, to telecommunications and surveillance platforms, to air-lifted cruise ships for the luxury market. tourist.
But Air Nostrum’s work reveals a market that HAV didn’t initially consider. “What we didn’t expect is that the aircraft’s ability to significantly reduce emissions opens up new avenues,” he says. So does he believe it’s a reliable competitor to fixed-wing airliners? “We think of it as a premium ferry rather than a replacement for regional aircraft,” he says.
Air Nostrum’s preliminary deal, announced last summer, isn’t a firm order, but it’s “as close as it gets without having to set up a production line,” Grundy said. With this contract, Air Nostrum will receive aircraft deliveries over a period of five years, starting in 2026. The attraction lies in the environment, and the company aims to “see every way” to reduce its carbon footprint.
Grundy won’t reveal his tourism client — effectively the Airlander 10 launch operator — but plans to announce the name later this year. “Now there are companies that want to sell tickets,” he says. The market is an area where the aircraft’s low speed and his 10,000-foot cruising altitude and spacious, large-window cabin yield distinct advantages.
HAV and a number of organizations in the Scottish Highlands and Islands have also launched research to see the potential of Airlander 10 to connect remote communities. While smaller airliners serve several towns and islands in the region, HAV’s ability to operate on water and off-airports of the Airlander 10 will help connect many people who rely on roads and ferries. I think it will improve.
Cargo is where HAV comes from about two-thirds of its customers. Again, Grundy says he doesn’t envision the Airlander 10 competing with freighters, but other modes of transport, especially to remote or hard-to-access destinations. “There are many cases where land is the only viable alternative for cargo, and that is where the technology changes,” he says.
HAV’s future big role in this market is the Airlander 50, a concept with five times the cargo capacity of the Airlander 10. The design will be pushed forward with the aim of “moving significant engineering resources into the project” by next year.”
Grundy said HAV is “regularly getting inquiries” about the Airlander 50, which it expects to enter service by 2032. He describes it as a “major program” for a business “designed to pave the way for the large-scale logistics market.” The six shipping container-laden aircraft’s mission, he believes, could include moving perishables from farms in inland Africa to ports.
Another possible long-term development for HAV is an autonomous version of Airlander 10. Grundy sees great potential in the military market as an observation platform. Even without remote control, the aircraft’s spacious cabin, with space for sleeping quarters and living quarters, creates the potential for manned military missions lasting several days.
After refining the design and working hard to tell the world about the Airlander 10, Grundy says his priority now is to “build the business, not the plane,” including areas like aftermarket support and supply chain. It is said that The focus then shifts to generating revenue and returning his HAV’s patient shareholders.
Apart from Britain Norman’s modest operations at Lee-on-Solent, the Doncaster site will be the UK’s first commercial aircraft final assembly line since BAE built the last Avro RJ in 2001. I guess. “I don’t think we always appreciate the scale of what we do,” he admits. “We make something really special.”
