Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) says its hybrid-electric Airlander 10 airship is on track to be ready to carry up to 100 passengers on regional airline services beginning in&nbsp;2025. Newly released cabin concepts show possible configurations ranging from a spacious 10-seat layout for luxury tours or on-demand urban air mobility services to higher-density versions for scheduled city-to-city operations.
The UK-based company says the aircraft will be able to support airline routes of up to around 230 nm. However, with a top speed of around 75 knots, the Airlander 10 will be significantly slower than conventional aircraft. Nevertheless, HAV believes it can be competitive by offering passengers the chance to completely bypass airports to fly directly from one downtown location to another, taking off from seafronts, docks, or any flat surface on land.
In some cases, HAV says, the Airlander would generate 75 percent lower CO2 emissions than alternative means of transportation. The company aims to offer an all-electric version of the airship by 2030.
The Airlander features outer hull&nbsp;fabric&nbsp;with helium providing lift, composite structure, and two diesel engines powering&nbsp;a pair of 500 kW electric propulsors. Collins Aerospace is HAV’s key partner for the propulsion system, and the aerospace engineering department of the University of Nottingham is also involved in the program.
In a selection of sample city pairs released in May, HAV showed how the Airlander’s environmental footprint would be far lower than those of today’s aircraft and cars. It could even result in lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per passenger than train services.
For example, a 112-nm&nbsp;flight from downtown Seattle to the center of Vancouver in an Airlander 10 would take four hours and 12 minutes, generating 4.61 kg of CO2&nbsp;per passenger. Allowing for airport transfers and lengthy check-in and security processes, the same trip via current airline service would take three hours and six minutes, but would result in CO2 emissions of 53.15 kg per passenger.
Another example comes from Scandinavia where governments are rolling out policies intended to drive down the carbon footprint from air travel. HAV says the Airlander 10 could make the 230-nm&nbsp;journey from the center of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, to Stockholm in Sweden in six hours and 33 minutes, which is significantly longer than the three-hour, 49-minute airline trip, but with just 4.58 kg CO2 per passenger compared with 64.28 kg for the airline flight.
Other potential city pairs for which HAV believes the Airlander would compete favorably with both airline and ferry services include Barcelona in northeast Spain to Palma on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. In the UK, Liverpool on the mainland to the Northern Irish capital Belfast is another possible route&nbsp;for which the airship would be significantly faster than ferries&nbsp;and not much slower than airline service.
"For many decades, flying from A to B has meant sitting in a metal tube with tiny windows, a necessity but not always a pleasure," said George Land, HAV's commercial business development director. "On Airlander, the whole experience is pleasant, even enjoyable."&nbsp;
According to research conducted by UK industry group Aerospace, Defence and Space, around 47 percent of regional airline flights are shorter than 200 nm. HAV chief executive Tom Grundy told AIN&nbsp;that the Airlander can provide a viable alternative to both turboprop and jet airliners, and also train routes, for which infrastructure can prove costly and in some locations will likely never be available.
HAV has been developing the Airlander for various other applications, among them surveillance platforms for military and government agencies, including the U.S. Army’s now-abandoned Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) program. That&nbsp;program suffered a setback in November 2017 when an earlier prototype was destroyed after it became detached from a mooring mast.
The company now expects to start a civil certification process later this year&nbsp;and to have three aircraft engaged in test flights by 2023. Grundy said it has raised around £140 million ($196 million) and needs to raise about the same amount again to get the Airlander 10 into production at initial rates of 12 per year.
This story is from&nbsp;<a href="https://futureflight.aero/">FutureFlight.aero</a>, a news and information resource developed by&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;to provide objective, independent coverage&nbsp;and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology, including electric aircraft developments and advanced air mobility.

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