The World's Largest Airship Looks Like a Huge Butt
Admit it: You're mostly reading this article because you think butts are funny. And that's totally cool. You're not alone.
Part airplane, part helicopter, and all dirigible (awww yeah), the Airlander 10 is set to make its maiden flight in March over Cardington, United Kingdom, after years of work to launch the hybrid aircraft, according to The Independent. Originally developed as part of a US Army project, the Airlander 10 measures in at a colossal 300ft by 143ft by 85ft, and derives its name from the 10,000-kilo payload it can haul. To put that into perspective: the ship is about the size of a football field and can haul up to four Ford F-150s. Some would call it the badonkadonk of airships.
“It’s very satisfying for the team and me to get another milestone under our belts," said Hybrid Air Vehicles’ Technical Director Mike Durham in a press release. "We’re hugely excited about the forthcoming Airlander First Flight this year.”
Additionally, the ship requires 1.3 million cubic feet of helium to stay airborne, or enough of the gas to give the entire cast of the Broadway version of The Lion King Alvin and the Chipmunks voices for the rest of their lives. While it moves pretty slow and low, at about 92mph at 20,000ft, the Airlander can coast in the air for up to two weeks on its huge load of gas (heh), but could get from London to Paris in about 2.5 hours, with eventual plans to convert it into a leisure ship for passengers.
But the real takeaway here is that it looks like a gigantic ass.
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Ryan Craggs is Thrillist's Senior News Editor. Butts. Heh. Follow him @ryanrcraggs.