The American outfit, which was created by Google cofounder Sergey Brin in 2015, was recently given the green light to fly its epic airship in California. This British Racing Team Will Electrify Your Classic Ford Mustang So You Can Keep Driving It. The certificate permits LTA to fly the helium-filled aircraft at an altitude of up to 1,500 feet in the airspace at Moffett Field and the neighboring Palo Alto Airport.
Pathfinder measures 407 feet from tip to tail, making it roughly twice the length of an Airbus A380. It will be the longest airship to hit the skies in almost a century, following the 804-foot Hindenburg-class behemoths of the 1930s. LTA is also working on a third iteration, the Pathfinder 3, which will stretch about 600 feet.
In terms of construction, the Pathfinder’s internal structure is made of polymer tubing that has been reinforced with carbon fiber. This rigid yet lightweight framework distinguishes the airship from a blimp and means that it can use non-flammable helium as a lifting gas rather than potentially explosive hydrogen. As for grunt, the airship is equipped with a hybrid propulsion system that sees two 150 kW diesel generators and 24 batteries powering 12 electric motors.
Pathfinder 1’s airworthiness certificate is valid for a full year, though LTA expects the test program to be complete within 180 days. After several flights in California, the airship will head back to the company’s hangar in Akron, Ohio. This massive 364,000-square-foot facility, which fittingly used to be the Goodyear Airdock, will be where LTA builds and stores its fleet.