Giant Born in SoCal Hangar As Airship Filled With Helium

Inflation has been completed on a new airship that will be taking to the local skies over southern California after first taking shape over the weekend at a hangar in Orange County, CA. The 40D ‘Sky Dragon’ airship S/N A40D-22 vehicle’s envelope is now filled with more than 100,000 cubic feet of Helium, helping ready the 150 foot plus vehicle for test flights in Tustin prior to its international service deployment.

The 40D airship is a product of Aeroscraft Corporation (Aeros), a leading FAA-certified lighter-than-air (LTA) manufacturer and technology innovator now pioneering the creation of a cargo airship fleet. The airship will be soon be delivered overseas for multi-role operations beginning this fall.

The ‘40D Sky Dragon’ airship supports numerous airborne ISR missions (intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance), providing a quiet and stable aerial platform with long endurance and slow-loiter capabilities often exploited for event broadcasts. 

The flexible 40D ‘Sky Dragon’ features:

• A stronger and lighter envelope fabrics that improve helium impermeability
• A fly-by-wire flight control system providing exceptional maneuverability and control
• Reduced requirements for ground handling personnel

As a sensor platform, the airship maintains extended time on station and low operational costs supporting a variety of surveillance missions from anti-terrorism to smuggling interdiction.  The vehicle’s 24-hour imaging capability, loiter duration, and 360 degree field of view, HD downlink and remote camera operation capabilities together support mission success and efficiency, as well as flexibility to cover more ground with less manpower requirements.  The system will speed detection and identification abilities, facilitate documentation, and support response command and control for a variety of missions.

(Image provided by Aeroscraft)

FMI: http://aeroscraft.com