Airlander 10

Well at least it wasn't full of hydrogen like the Hindenburg. Red faces all around for the engineers though. :cool:
 
Kinda feel sorry for it really, I mean it's not like it was a total failure - it did actually work, but maybe in the final analysis it is just a bad idea/design and isn't really mean to be, maybe in future with better/more advanced materials it'll be a better idea..
 
It split in two...there's not much more of a complete failure than that. Well...it could have gone up in flames
so have many planes, that doesn't make planes, in general, a total failure.

the failures are incompetence, first one it got caught on power lines, and this time it was moored.
 
I live half mile away from this and seems weird seeing it in pieces when it was only flying around our house Yesterday. I could be wrong but maybe somebody didn't attach it to its mast properly after Yesterday's flight. Time will tell I guess.
 
Looks like it was actually a automatic controlled deflation, due to becoming detached from its tether...
https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/news-and-media/news/airlander-media-statement-18-november-2017
... a safely system working as intended, but looking like a complete disaster!
If this is anything like the automatic deflation systems that we used on our big Aerostat's in Afghanistan, it would make sense, in our case it was a device attached to the top of the Aerostat with GPS/tracking/transponder with a programmed geofence, if for some reason it detatched and moved outwith that range of the geofence, the deflation device activates quickly retracting a large sharp blade across the entire top of the Aerostat, slicing a huge hole in it and bring it down before it ***** off.
 
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