Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) Limited is a British limited company and a British manufacturer of
hybrid airship
A hybrid airship or plimp is a powered aircraft that obtains some of its lift as a lighter-than-air (LTA) airship and some from aerodynamic lift as a heavier-than-air aerodyne.
A ''dynastat'' is a hybrid airship with fixed wings and/or a lifting ...
s, though none have been built since the crash of its last demonstrator. These aircraft use both aerodynamics and
lighter-than-air
A lifting gas or lighter-than-air gas is a gas that has a density lower than normal atmospheric gases and rises above them as a result. It is required for aerostats to create buoyancy, particularly in lighter-than-air aircraft, which include fre ...
(LTA) technology to generate lift, potentially allowing the vehicle to stay aloft for several weeks.
The company developed the HAV 3 technology demonstrator. This won it the US Army LEMV contract, in association with
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
as the prime contractor, and led to the
HAV 304. Following termination of the LEMV project, the HAV 304 was rebuilt as the Airlander 10. It was the largest aircraft flying at the time. The Airlander 10 was damaged in one event in 2016 and then written off after another event at the mast in 2017. The company has stated that it will not be rebuilt.
History
Origins
HAV is the latest in a line of companies to acquire and develop airship technologies in the UK. Aerospace Developments was formed in 1971 and since then its assets have passed through successive companies Airship Developments, Airship Industries, Westinghouse Airships, Airship Technologies, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) and, immediately preceding HAV, the SkyCat group which folded in 2007.
During this period a number of airships and hybrids were built.
Multi-hull airships
Hybrid Air Vehicles was formed in 2007 by Roger Munk (Jeffrey Roger Munk 1947–2010). It acquired the assets of the SkyCat group and established itself at
Cardington Airfield
Cardington Airfield, previously RAF Cardington, is a former Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, with a long and varied history, particularly in relation to airships and balloons.
Most of the former RAF station is in the parish o ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
, UK.
The company developed the HAV 3 technology demonstrator. In partnership with
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
(NGC) as prime contractor, in 2009 it won a US$500 million US Army contract to develop a
Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle
The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10, originally developed as the HAV 304, is a hybrid airship designed and built by British manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). Comprising a helium airship with auxiliary wing and tail surfaces, it flies usi ...
(LEMV), which was delivered between 2009 and early 2013. Hybrid Air Vehicles designed, developed and manufactured the
HAV 304 aircraft for the LEMV project, with NGC acting as the prime contractor and sensor system integrator. On 7 August 2012 a successful 90-minute test flight took place in
Lakehurst,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The LEMV project was cancelled In February 2013.
Hybrid Air Vehicles took the opportunity to buy back the envelope and associated materials, which they returned to the UK for conversion to the civilian
Airlander 10
The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10, originally developed as the HAV 304, is a hybrid airship designed and built by British manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). Comprising a helium airship with auxiliary wing and tail surfaces, it flies u ...
.
In 2014 it was unveiled in Cardington. It was reported as the world's largest aircraft.
[
One investor, heavy metal singer and commercial pilot ]Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
, announced plans to fly twice around the world nonstop.
Aircraft
HAV-3
The HAV-3 craft was a long remote-controlled scale demonstrator based on the SkyCat
SkyCat (a portmanteau of "Sky Catamaran") is a class of proposed heavy-lift hybrid airships which derive more than half of their lift by helium buoyancy and the balance via aerodynamic lift produced by aerodynamic shaping. The SkyCat design incorp ...
concept.
Registered as ''G-OHAV'' (company serial HAV-3/001) it was built in 2008. Its first flight was in September 2008 at Cardington Airfield.
It was retired in 2010 following receipt of the LEMV contract.
HAV-304 LEMV and Airlander 10
The HAV 304 was developed for the US military LEMV
The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10, originally developed as the HAV 304, is a hybrid airship designed and built by British manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV). Comprising a helium airship with auxiliary wing and tail surfaces, it flies usi ...
project.
Following cancellation of the LEMV project, HAV bought back the HAV 304, returned it to the UK and converted it for civilian use as the Airlander 10. Airlander 10 is long, wide, and high. The Airlander 10 landed nose-down on 24 August 2016 during its second test flight on the Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire, causing damage to the cockpit. Repairs were completed by February the following year, and the Airlander recommenced its flight test programme on 10 May 2017. On 18 November 2017, the airship broke free from its moorings in a high wind and fell to the ground. The craft was written off after this incident.
Airlander 50
The Airlander 50 is a proposed larger transport craft with a 50 tonne payload.
References
External links
Company Home Page
US Congress Budget Office Report on Military Airship programmes outlining plans
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Aerospace companies of the United Kingdom
Aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Airships of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 2007
Companies based in Bedfordshire
Science and technology in Bedfordshire