Pathfinder 1 (airship)

2023: Presentation of the airship and permission to test it

At the end of October 2023, it became known that the startup LTA Research, created by Google co-founder Sergei Brin, presented the Pathfinder 1 airship approximately 124 meters long. The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States (FAA) issued official permission to test this aircraft.

The LTA Research project is being implemented with the aim of carrying out humanitarian missions, as well as for delivering goods to hard-to-reach areas with poorly developed infrastructure. Pathfinder 1 has a rigid design that resembles giant airships of the early twentieth century. At the same time, modern materials and technical solutions are used. A special frame consisting of welded titanium elements and carbon fiber reinforced pipes is used. This makes the aircraft light enough that helium could be used as the lifting gas instead of explosive hydrogen. Helium fills 13 bags of reinforced nylon. In addition, Tedlar laminated non-combustible material is used.

Pathfinder airship 1

On the sides and in the tail of the airship there are 12 electrically driven propellers. Each of them is capable of rotating 360 degrees to provide traction and position control. The system is monitored using a conventional joystick.

Although the power plant is electric and there is a battery pack on board, the airship is also equipped with two 150 kW diesel generators. In the future, it is planned to replace them with hydrogen fuel cells. The maximum speed in the horizontal direction is about 120 km/h. The cabin, designed by Zeppelin specialists, is designed for 14 people. The FAA-issued airworthiness certificate allows the airship to be operated at an altitude of less than 460 meters.^[1]

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