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World's Largest Aircraft Crashes Its Second Flight (theverge.com)
Not too long after it completed its first test flight, the Airlander 10 -- the world's largest aircraft -- has crashed its second test flight. Since the 300-foot long aircraft contains 38,000 cubic meters of helium inside its hull, the crash was all but sudden. You can see in a video posted to YouTube from witnesses on the ground that the aircraft slowly descended to the ground, nose first. The BBC has published some close-up photos of the cockpit, which sustained damages. There were no injuries in the crash, according to a tweet from Hybrid Air Vehicles. The company did also deny eyewitness reports of the aircraft being damaged in a collision with a telegraph pole.
"Oh, the humanity!"
Have gnu, will travel.
Call that an airship, or something, please. Even though this picture reminds me of a very flexible girlfriend of mine.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
The helium shortage is a myth! It is a lie perpetuated by Big Noble Gas to drive up prices!
WAKE UP SHEEPLE!
An MRI machine needs 1,700 litres of liquid helium, which needs to be topped off regularly. That's the equivalent of 12,724 cubic meters. The airship needs 38,000 cubic meters of helium, which I assume also needs to be topped off regularly.
In other words, the airship uses Helium at the rate of three MRI machines (according to my layman calculation). I'm not making a judgement one way or another. I just wanted to quantify the comparison.
What is NOT common, what no pilot would ever do, is to keep the elevators in down-ship position all the way until the thing has crashed into the ground. Watch the video. My guess is control system failure.
The most amazing part about that video: they recorded it in Landscape mode!!!