Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has developed a novel new type of aircraft that could revolutionise the cost, safety and environmental impact of air transport. This aircraft type is already substantially risk reduced by being taken to TRL 6 with initial flight demonstration under a US Military programme (LEMV). HAV believes that the civil aerospace application of this technology is the strongest route to market. Identified civil customers need to see that this novel aircraft can be accepted by civil regulators before they will place orders for production versions.
This project creates a civil regulatory framework in conjunction with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and upgrades the prototype vehicle to EASA required standards. It then supports further flight demonstration of the vehicle, driving down customer risk and provides a clear path to production orders.
The Airlander Civil Exploitation Project (ACEP) Key Objectives are the:
• Development of a recognised civil regulatory standard for this unique vehicle type under EASA control,
• Upgrade of the first of type vehicle hardware to meet civil (EASA) regulations and support customer demonstrations/trials,
• Reduction of customer risk via the development of high quality civil purchase and operating cost information,
• Enhancement / optimisation of performance for the civil variant.
The project activities have successfully supported satisfaction of these objectives. These objectives result in a significant reduction in risk for prospective commercial customers. The Company is now in a position to build an order book for a commercial variant of the Airlander 10.
