March 24 - Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has completed the final assembly of its airship, Airlander 10.
The Airlander will now enter the ground testing phase before being rolled out of the hangar, ready for its first flight from Cardington air field in the UK.
HAV says that the Airlander is a low-noise, low-pollution and environmentally friendly airship. It has ultra-long endurance, a point-to-point cargo carrying capacity and can take off and land in a short distance from unprepared sites in desert, ice, water or open field environments.
"We are delighted that the Airlander 10 is now fully assembled and we are looking forward to its flight testing over the next few months," said Andy Barton, business development director for commercial markets at HAV.
"It has the ability to revolutionise logistics in remote areas as we have no need for a runway - we just need a roughly level surface which can be grass or water, for example - all at a much lower cost than a helicopter."
HLPFI reported on February 9 that HAV had attached the mission module to its Airlander 10, which is scheduled to take to UK skies for the first time in 2016.
