WEALTH CREATION AN AIRCRAFT LIKE NO OTHER

Testing an aircraft that is the size of the Airlander in private is impossible, so the first test flight in August 2016 was watched by a crowd of onlookers at the former RAF station in Cardlington, Bedfordshire, which is home to the craft ©

INGENIA ISSUE 71 JUNE 2017 27 AN AIRCRAFT LIKE NO OTHER WEALTH CREATION

The Airlander made headlines when it embarked on its first test flight in August 2016 as the world’s largest aircraft. Science writer and broadcaster Geoff Watts talked to Chris Daniels, Head of Partnerships and Communications at Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited, and David Burns, Airlander’s Chief Test Pilot, about the engineering that helped it reach this stage and plans for the craft’s future.

AIRLANDER: A BRIEF HISTORY Airlander 10’s manufacturer, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), was set For more than a century, above the weaknesses that up by Roger Munk in 2007. Its first customer was the US Army of various kinds have have eventually sunk so many who needed an unmanned aerial surveillance craft for use in been seeking a sustainable previous forays into this most Afghanistan. The craft had to be able to fly for long periods, and commercial role. So far, no eye-catching form of transport. at altitudes of up to 20,000 feet, out of range of local weaponry. venture has lasted indefinitely, HAV was to asked complete its part in the $500-million-dollar but now, British company programme in the extraordinarily short period of 25 months. It Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is UNUSUAL DESIGN did so, and a successful test flight of what was then called the confident that it has found the Seen from the side, Airlander HAV 304 took place in New Jersey, USA, on 7 August 2012. It was way forward. New materials, looks like most other craft of to be the only such outing. Defence budget cuts and the US new technologies, and most its kind. However, the view government’s increasing determination to get out of Afghanistan importantly, new thinking from any other angle reveals it led to the demise of the programme. By the time it was axed, $300 have combined to produce to be quite different. It has an million had already been spent. From the back, the Airlander resembles three sausages that have been squashed together, an arrangement that creates an aerodynamic shape, which is assisted the newest breed of airships: a oval rather than round cross- HAV saw its chance. The company had a proven craft for which by two top fins and two lower fins – one of which can be seen before it was attached to the hull © Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre craft called Airlander section, while it resembles a the development costs had been paid, but for which the US Army 10. Its capacity for landing pair of fat sausages pressed no longer had a use. There being no competing bids, HAV was AIRSHIPS BY TYPE mode of flight. While traditional metres of fabric made up of anywhere without large side to side when viewed from able to buy the craft back for a mere $301,000, virtually scrap airships, almost by definition, multiple layers of three materials: Airships or dirigibles numbers of ground staff and, the front. When seen from the value, and less than it cost to dismantle it, roll it up, and ship it have relied on their inherent Vectran, a fibre spun from a Any powered aircraft that is steerable, and inflated with a gas if necessary, staying airborne rear, those two sausage shapes across the Atlantic. On arrival in Cardington in December 2013, it buoyancy, Airlander is slightly liquid crystal polymer and often lighter than air. for weeks at a time offer clear have morphed into three. was repaired, reassembled and reinflated. Some 500 modifications heavier than air and its default used in high-performance sails; advantages in performing all This configuration creates an later, and with the support of private investors and grants from the direction of free movement is Mylar, a tough polyester film sorts of tasks. aerodynamic shape and the UK government, Airlander 10, as it was now called, was ready for A powered, steerable, lighter-than-air vehicle with no rigid not up but down. Only when in to ensure that the envelope Unusually, Airlander forward movement of the craft its first test flight. internal structure. Its shape is a consequence of the pressurised motion does it generate the lift (structure) is helium-tight; and combines the features of generates lift. gas within it. it needs to start rising. Airlander Tedlar, a vinyl fluoride polymer traditional airships with others The origins of this innovative airships and headed the design a clutch of key hurdles. These Semi-rigid combines the cost efficiency with good resistance to weather derived from heavier-than- design lie with the late Roger team responsible for the , a ranged from the use of An airship incorporating a limited rigid frame, typically a keel, to of an airship, with some of and chemicals. These materials air machines. Not all its lift is Munk, a British engineer born craft that had intended to offer stronger and lighter plastics support it and distribute loads. the performance virtues of an were heat-welded to form a provided by the buoyancy of in the late 1940s, who became mail and passenger services and composite materials to the aircraft. single thin, flexible yet remarkably the gas within its hull: up to 40% fascinated by airships and to the countries of the British introduction of more advanced An airship with a shape fully defined by a complete internal Unlike most of its large tough sheet. Delivered to the is a product of its aerodynamic then set out to find a way of Empire but was grounded after a flight control systems. framework. predecessors, Airlander has no manufacturing site in rolls, it was shape. It is this innovation in making them a mainstream flight to and from Canada in the Over the years, Munk tackled internal framework. Its shape cut to shape before the individual aeronautical engineering, its transport system. One of Munk’s 1930s. Sir Barnes told Munk that them all. His key insight was derives entirely from the pressure sections were assembled by An airship that relies on aerodynamics as well as the gas within it hybrid status, that HAV believes inspirations was Sir the future success of airships the feature that sets Airlander of the gas within its hull, which heat-welding. Most existing to provide lift. will allow Airlander to rise CBE FRS, who had worked on would depend on overcoming apart from its predecessors: its comprises some 7,000 square airship hulls have been made out

28 INGENIA INGENIA ISSUE 71 JUNE 2017 29 AN AIRCRAFT LIKE NO OTHER WEALTH CREATION

found themselves teaching the simulator rather than vice-versa. The experience of a take-off is of polyester, which can stretch not unlike that of an ordinary when subject to pressure, but the aircraft but in slow motion, and material used to construct the Airlander has four ballonets (seen in yellow), or air-filled balloons, within its hull. These serve to maintain the helium in as with large sea-going ships, Airlander is more resilient. the hull at a constant pressure difference with respect to the outside air. At ground level the ballonets, which are made the response to adjustments of of the same material as the outer fabric and connected via four vents to the exterior, occupy up to a third of the volume Weight and strength are of the craft. As the craft rises and the outside air pressure falls, the helium expands, expelling air from the ballonets, the controls is not instantaneous. key factors when making the while on descent the reverse happens. The movement of air into the ballonets is aided by large fans set in the openings Four 325 horsepower turbocharged engines with variable pitch propellers power the Airlander. They are lighter than Although Airlander can choice of any components for to the exterior © Hybrid Air Vehicles engines that were used for previous generations of airships and the absence of a rigid interior framework means that they need to be attached directly to the fabric structure of the craft © Hybrid Air Vehicles operate anywhere from the an airship, not just for envelope valves that normally allow the to nil) in natural gas. Although be anticipated. The remaining tropics to the Arctic, it is not of the hull. HAV used Forward helium to move freely between helium is a finite resource, HAV two engines, each mounted polyester fibres encased in a The avionics are as advanced Using a pair of skids running wholly immune to weather Composites to make many them, but can be closed if insists – in spite of occasional on the conical rear tips of the durable black polymeric sheath. as those of any modern aircraft, lengthwise beneath it, the craft conditions. Its 30 tonnes of of the larger components of required to isolate individual claims to the contrary – that we hull, are supported by forward- At speeds of up to 30 knots, but adapted to take account of a can land on any surface. Pilots weight give a stability that Airlander’s rigid structures. The sections. In contrast with the are not yet in imminent danger running carbon composite the craft is mostly steered by very different mode of flight. The can practise this and other allows it to function even in carbon and glass composites high-tech materials science of running short of it. battens, which also support the engine thrust. Above 30 knots, central electronic control system manoeuvres on the company’s ground winds of up to 80 needed for some of the structure that underpins the fabric of shape, attached to the fabric of steering relies on the rudder connects with the engines, the custom-made flight simulator. knots. The absence of any rigid behave differently when pulled the envelope, the methods for the craft. and elevators on the lateral fins. rudder, all other mechanical Professional simulators for internal framework makes it in different directions. This has detecting punctures in it are THE CRAFT IN FLIGHT The forward engines on the The Airlander 10 is not currently components and with remote training airship pilots are, not less susceptible to the bending necessitated careful structural more traditional. One is to shine Airlander is powered by four current prototype Airlander can intended to take off and land instruments and sensors via a surprisingly, pretty rare. HAV’s forces of side winds that could analyses to determine how a bright light on its outer surface 325 horsepower turbocharged be swivelled by up to 30 degrees vertically, although the company fibre-optic cabling system. The own simulator has undergone be a problem for previous many layers of material were while observers inside the hull engines with variable pitch from a horizontal position to believes it probably could and HAV 304, which Airlander was adaptations in which pilots generations of airships. required at specific locations. scrutinise its inner surface, propellers. These engines, which provide it with vectored thrust. later production models will derived from was among the first The risks posed by a hull filled looking out for chinks of light. use standard aviation fuel, are (On later models the engines most likely include this facility. aircraft to use this ‘fly by light’ AIRLANDER 10: THE BASICS with hydrogen are obvious, so Another is to spray the exterior lighter than those available to will be able to swivel through Airlander’s payload module system, as it has been dubbed. Length: 92 metres Airlander uses helium, which surface with a soapy solution previous generations of airship 180 degrees.) Butterfly vanes and fuel tanks are attached Much of the seven kilometres of Width: 43.5 metres is an inert gas. Its pressure, and look for emerging bubbles. designers. Even so, the absence mounted behind the propellers directly to the underside of Airlander’s cabling runs on the Height: 26 metres continuously monitored by Any repairs that are needed are of any rigid interior framework also allow the airflow to be the hull, which has a curtain craft’s outer surface, making it Volume of hull: 38,000 cubic metres instruments within the hull, fixed with a heat-welded patch. means that each must be directed at will. Two side fins and of material and an array of easier to access and maintain. Total weight: 20,000 kilograms is set only 0.15psi (pound- Although it is the second attached directly to the fabric two top fins with rudders are strengthening wires connecting it When the British company Altitude: 4,880 metres force per square inch) above most abundant element in the envelope of the craft. Close attached directly to the fabric of to the hull’s upper surface. It can (AVOptics) that manufactures the Cruising speed: 80 knots atmospheric, so that any leak universe, helium is relatively rare inspection of the hull next to the hull, and stabilised by Parafil carry up to 10 tonnes of cargo system was originally contracted Payload: 10,000 kilograms that might develop would be on Earth and mostly produced by the forward engines mounted cables, a type of low-weight, or passengers, and immediately to work on the airship, it found Range (with full load): 3,000 kilometres slow. Moreover, the interior the radioactive decay of thorium on either side of the craft reveals high-tensile-strength synthetic forward of where this is carried itself having to make cables Engines: Four with 325 horsepower turbocharged V8 direct of the hull is divided into 15 and uranium. It can be found in virtually no sign of the local rope that typically comprises a is the flight deck with seats for ten times the length it was injection compartments that are linked by varying amounts (from 7% down distortion to its shape that might closely packed core of parallel a pilot and co-pilot or engineer. accustomed to.

30 INGENIA INGENIA ISSUE 71 JUNE 2017 31 AN AIRCRAFT LIKE NO OTHER WEALTH CREATION

success in the cargo field might have to await the advent of a 50 tonne payload. With this in mind, HAV already has outline plans for an Airlander able to carry a payload of 50 tonnes in the form of half a dozen 20-foot containers. However, the size of the potential market remains a matter for speculation, not least because a new combination of longer transit time but lower cost might create a case for moving certain goods – perishable foods, The proposed payload space of the Airlander 50, a cargo carrying aircraft that will be able to transport 50 tonnes for example – that seldom make © Hybrid Air Vehicles FROM TESTING TO long journeys at present, or do so OPERATION only in small quantities. and even without vertical lift- in hundreds of miles, airships a task that might cost £20,000 an Airlander 10’s first test flight, The operational efficiency off can manage with a space can beat that by an order of hour or more using a helicopter carried out on 17 August 2016 of airships is indisputable. around four times their own magnitude. Their low fuel would be closer to £2,000 to was a complete success. Its They require no runway and length. While helicopters have consumption per unit of payload £3,000 per hour using Airlander. second was less so, with the The auxiliary landing system was added to the craft following its crash. The system, a pilot-deployable two airbag little ground infrastructure, an operating range measured gives them a carbon footprint Commentators have so often landing system that acts as an extra cushion to land on, allows the aircraft to land safely at a greater range of landing well below that of any other and for so long predicted the aircraft crashing into the ground angles. The airbags are over three metres in length and contain 15 cubic metres of gas (less than 0.1% of the entire hull as it attempted to land. The volume) and are situated on each side of the flight deck to offer enhanced protection to the cabin and flight deck. The powered flying machine. imminent revival of the airship system uses the existing ballonet fans to inflate, and takes under 20 seconds to be ready for use © Hybrid Air Vehicles THE 2016 ACCIDENT: HOW A WINCH hard landing caused no harm to Operating costs depend as a serious contender in the either member of the crew, but lowers its undercarriage. which is expected to happen a year. It envisages them FAILURE LED TO A HARD LANDING on the job in hand and on its transport market that further Trying to test something the size of Airlander 10 in private is severely damaged the control On 10 May 2017, Airlander once the aircraft is flying – an finding a role in surveillance location but modelling done by prophecy would be reckless. impossible, so it was in front of a clutch of camera lenses that cabin and delayed the test resumed its Flight Test opportunity that the company by law enforcement agencies the company on, for example, What can be said is that present Airlander’s second test flight came to an undignified end on programme by some six months, Programme with a successful has not previously had. With or the military, for oil and gas transporting people or goods circumstances – the emphasis on August 24 2016. possibly costing the company three-hour flight. The flight the aircraft flying and customer pipeline surveys, or for luxury to mines in remote parts of fuel economy and the advent of The culture of openness and safety that characterises the £2 million. Fortunately, some of test consists of three phases, engagement driving forward, tourism (for example, seeing Northern Canada suggest that new technologies and materials – reporting and analysis of aircraft incidents applies equally to the testing was able to continue during each of which Airlander the intention is to raise £15 the Grand Canyon from the air). the Airlander comes out at about provide a setting more favourable airships. A report by the Air Accident Investigations Branch, while repairs to the cabin were flies further from its airfield million to fund the early However, the initial production 10% of moving equivalent loads to success than any for half a published at the beginning of March 2017, tells the story of underway. Although all of and pushes its speed, altitude stages of production, with the run is expected to be focused by helicopter and is a third of century. If HAV cannot make a Airlander’s accident. The test flight lasted a little over 90 minutes Airlander’s systems continued and endurance, among other aggregate level of funding on an endurance-optimised the cost of using cargo aircraft. commercial success of a craft and was successful. It approached its mooring mast and deployed to operate after the crash, there variables, a little further each required to support the move Airlander that will provide a Military surveillance costs are also such as Airlander, it is difficult to the mooring cable. Ground staff attached this to the winch were lessons to be learned. time. Flight testing will last for to full production at £70 million. platform for patrol, search, survey, an order of magnitude cheaper; imagine who ever will. intended to complete the landing operation, but the winch failed HAV knows exactly how and a number of months before a Once production has begun, communications and filming. to start. The pilot decided to make another circuit while it was why the accident occurred, and series of customer trials and the company plans to list on HAV believes that the biggest BIOGRAPHY fixed but the lack of any pre-arranged system for dealing with the is confident that it will not be demonstrations begins. the stock markets to secure the market will ultimately be in cargo Chris Daniels is Head of Partnerships and Communications at mooring cable under these circumstances left it dangling from the repeated. Either way, Airlander Assuming that the balance of funds needed. but that may have to await the Hybrid Air Vehicles, and has been with the company for four front of the craft. 10 has now been fitted with reactivated test programme The operation at the development of larger models. years. He has a mathematics degree from the University of The pilot was told that the cable was roughly 50 feet in length. an auxiliary landing system: in runs to time and uncovers no Airlander’s base in Cardington, An independent study by Oxford and an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona. In fact, it was three times as long as that, and consequently essence a pair of giant air bags major problems, HAV hopes Bedfordshire, is essentially an the aerospace consultancy firm snagged some overhead wires. To avoid further mishap, the pilot David Burns is Chief Test Pilot at Hybrid Air Vehicles. He has located slightly ahead and to to have the first production assembly process, with engines, Renaissance Strategic Advisors was obliged to make his second approach to the landing area at flown for Loganair, British Airways and Monarch Airways. David either side of the flight deck. Airlander ready for use by fabric and so on brought in talked of a $50 billion cargo well above the prescribed height. This and other circumstances began flying airships with Airship Industries in the early 1980s These will be routinely deployed early 2019. It currently has from elsewhere. The company market for airships over a 20-year led to a steeper than intended angle of descent – and a hard and has worked with them and successor companies in testing, immediately before most over 2,000 shareholders and anticipates being able to period, and a need for perhaps landing. training and operations in many parts of the world. landings, rather as an aircraft aims to increase investment, manufacture 12 Airlander 10s 600 craft. It also suggested that

32 INGENIA INGENIA ISSUE 71 JUNE 2017 33