In August 2016, the future of the the world's largest aircraft seemed uncertain after the Airlander 10 crashed turing a test at Cardington Airfield in the U.K. Although this was far from the general calamity of the Hindenburg, it was certainly a setback for an airship that already faced many obstacles to get airborne. But in a change of fortunes, the Airlander 10 conducted a successful flight test yesterday, flying around the Cardington area for about three hours.

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Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) designed the aircraft originally as a military surveillance vehicle, but then the Pentagon abandoned the idea in 2012. The 302-foot-long helium-filled aircraft continued on, and despite the crash (that smashed up the cockpit but caused no injuries), it appears that HAV still believes the Airlander 10 can find a place in a world that moved on from airships.

According to HAV, the Airlander 10 will be an "ultra-stable, ultra powerful, and ultra-long endurance" vehicle, whether for search and rescue, crowd control, or academic research. HAV also says passenger variants will be available in the future, so it looks like the once-promised lighter-than-air future might finally be coming true.

Hybrid Air Vehicles

Hybrid Air Vehicles

Hybrid Air Vehicles

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