April 12 - After unprecedented interest from the public for its crowdfunding, Hybrid Air Vehicles has received two key documents from its regulators, which are needed for the Airlander's first flight.
The Airlander has received both the Flight Conditions approval certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Permit to Fly from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Once the airship has completed the agreed ground-testing and associated documentation, its first flight will be authorised.
The development comes after Hybrid Air Vehicles announced that it was closing out its crowdfunding in just six days time, after reaching its GBP500,000 (USD716,482) target within ten hours of the launch to the public.
The amount raised now stands at just over GBP1 million (USD1.4 million) from 1,181 different visitors. Hybrid Air Vehicles claimed that this is the largest number of investors ever to invest equity in an aerospace project globally.
Last year, the company concluded a record-breaking GBP2.1 million (USD3 million) crowdfunding and received grants, which it says has since allowed it to hire almost 100 employees, secure various supply chain deals and construct the Airlander.
