The lead singer of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson is once again flying to new heights, after investing in the world’s longest airship; The Airlander hybrid airship. Measuring at a staggering 300ft long, 113ft wide and 85ft high, the Airlander is capable of carrying up to 10,000kg at a time, which its creators believe could be a highly beneficial asset in terms of getting aid to disaster zones. Not only can the Airlander can reach speeds up to 100mph and land on water, but it can stay airborne for up to 21 days at any one time.
“It’s a game changer, in terms of things we can have in the air and things we can do,” said Dickinson, a fully qualified pilot.
The aircraft which emerged from the UK’s largest hanger, located in Bedfordshire is filled with 38,000 cubic meters of helium and is considered to be the future in aviation travel, since it can take off and land, on land , sea and desert.
The airship was originally designed by the US military to be used for surveillance, however after defence drawbacks and funding was cut, it was sold to British developers. The government granted £2.5m towards the project and private investors such as Bruce Dickinson have contributed enormously to its research and development.
Dickinson intends to fly the colossal Airlander around the world not once but twice! When talking to the BBC Dickinson stated:
“It seizes my imagination. I want to get in this thing and fly it pole to pole,” he said. ”We’ll fly over the Amazon at 20ft, over some of the world’s greatest cities and stream the whole thing on the internet.”
Designers of the Airlander are even hoping to go into production of this aircraft and are looking to potentially build an even bigger version of the Airlander.
Who knows, maybe in 15 to 20 years’ time we’ll be providing you with Private Airland Charter!
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