Last October, British aerospace firm Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) announced that it was developing a luxury-tourism-oriented version of its otherwise-industrial Airlander 10 airship. This Wednesday, at the Farnborough International Airshow, the company revealed what the interior of that aircraft's cabin will look like.
Designed by UK firm Design Q, the passenger cabin will be 46 meters long (151 ft), making it larger than the cabins of most single-aisle aircraft. It will be capable of accommodating 19 passengers plus crew, on expeditions up to three days in length.
Among its features will be private en-suite bedrooms, an Infinity Lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows that offer "horizon-to-horizon" visibility, and an Altitude Bar where passengers can both have drinks and enjoy their meals.
Currently considered the world's largest aircraft, the Airlander 10 is powered by four 325-hp (242-kW) turbocharged diesel engines and uses aerodynamic lift like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft to take off, with helium keeping it aloft once it's in the air. Additionally, it can carry payloads of up to 10,000 kg (22,050 lb), and doesn't require a purpose-built runway – this could allow the tourist-version to land at exotic locations that are inaccessible to regular aircraft.
HAV suffered a setback last November, when the parked airship broke free of its mooring mast. An onboard safety system automatically ripped open the hull in order to deflate the aircraft, thus keeping it from drifting. It has since been determined that the mishap occurred due to an incorrectly-secured locking mechanism between the airship and the mast.
Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles
