World’s Largest Aircraft is Ready for Testing

newsforkids.net/articles/2023/12/07/worlds-largest-aircraft-is-ready-for-testing

NFK Editors - December 7, 2023

Moffett Field, California —(Map)

On November 8, an enormous new airship called Pathfinder 1 made its first test flights in
California. The huge airship was built by LTA Research, a company that’s hoping to make an
old method of transportation new again.

The new airship is massive. At 400 feet (121.9 meters) long, it’s far longer than a football
field. It’s the largest airship of its kind since the 1930s. But the Pathfinder 1 is built using a lot
of new ideas, and new materials.

Airships
Unlike planes, airships fly because they are full of gas that is lighter than air. And unlike
blimps and balloons, airships aren’t just a bag filled with gas. They have a frame, which
gives them a more solid structure. The pilots and passengers of an airship ride in a cabin
that sits below the main airship body.

Airships were especially popular in the early 1900s. They were used for transportation, for
spying, and were even used in war. But most of that ended in 1937, after an airship called
the Hindenburg caught fire and burned as it was landing.
The Hindenburg tragedy scared people away from airships. By that time, planes were
improving quickly. From then on, most air travel focused on airplanes.

Now, a company called LTA (Lighter Than Air) Research is hoping to change that. The
money for LTA comes from Sergey Brin, one of the two people who started Google. He hired
Alan Weston to run LTA. Both men have always liked airships. And they believe airships can
be used to move people and materials quickly and without polluting.

LTA has been working on its airship, Pathfinder 1, for about 10 years. From the outside,
Pathfinder 1 looks similar to the airships of the 1930s.

But Pathfinder 1 is completely new. For one thing, the ship gets its lift from helium – a lighter-
than-air gas that does not burn. (Hydrogen gas, which does burn, was responsible for the
Hindenburg disaster.)

The helium is contained in 13 separate sections made of a tough, light fabric. These sections
are protected by a strong skeleton made from 10,000 long tubes of light, stiff material called
carbon fiber. The skeleton helps the airship keep its shape. The airship’s outside skin is
made from another tough, light material.

The Pathfinder 1 has 12 electric motors, which can be powered by either batteries or
generators. The motors make it possible for the airship to take off and land without a runway.
The Pathfinder 1 can fly at speeds of up to 75 mph (120 kph).
But it will be flying much more slowly during its early test flights. In fact, at first, the ship will
be held just barely above the ground. The US government has given LTA special permission
to fly Pathfinder 1 under certain conditions. But there will be many tests before the airship is
allowed to fly freely. The first 50 flights are limited to 1,500 feet (457 meters) high.

Pathfinder 1 can carry about 4 tons of people and things. In time, LTA hopes to show that
airships can provide a low-pollution way to move cargo over long distances. Mr. Brin is
especially interested in using airships to help people out in emergency situations, such as
after an earthquake or a hurricane, when roads are closed and there’s no place for planes to
land.

Did You Know…?

LTA Research is already working on Pathfinder 3, which will be over two football fields long
and able to carry far more.