<
https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/08/the-worlds-largest-aircraft-breaks-cover-in-silicon-valley/>
"As dawn breaks over Silicon Valley, the world is getting its first look at
Pathfinder 1, a prototype electric airship that its maker LTA Research hopes
will kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel, and accelerate the
humanitarian work of its funder, Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The airship — its snow-white steampunk profile visible from the busy 101
highway — has taken drone technology such as fly-by-wire controls, electric
motors and lidar sensing, and supersized them to something longer than three
Boeing 737s, potentially able to carry tons of cargo over many hundreds of
miles.
“It’s been 10 years of blood, sweat and tears,” LTA CEO Alan Weston told
TechCrunch on the eve of the unveiling. “Now we must show that this can
reliably fly in real-world conditions. And we’re going to do that.”
A series of increasingly ambitious flight tests lie ahead, before
Pathfinder
1 is moved to Akron, Ohio, where LTA Research is planning an even larger
airship, the
Pathfinder 3. The company eventually hopes to produce a family
of airships to provide disaster relief where roads and airports are damaged, as
well as zero-carbon passenger transportation.
For the next year however, the gigantic airship looks set to become a Silicon
Valley landmark as its novel materials and systems are methodically put through
their paces within shouting distance of companies like Google, Meta and Amazon.
“I’m excited about the potential of not building just one airship, but laying
the foundation for many airships to be built,” said Weston. “The innovations
and the technologies that we’re about to demonstrate have the potential to lay
the foundation for a new industry.”"
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-tb-emissions-china-deforestation-colombia/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
