After months of delay, the Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) Airlander 10 took to the air from Cardington airfield in the UK on August 17. The huge hybrid airship was airborne for about 20 minutes. The event was the start of a three-phase, 200-hour flight test program that HAV has agreed with the European Aviation Safety Agency and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The Airlander 10 flew once previously in 2012 as the U.S. Army’s Long-Endurance Multi-Purpose Vehicle (LEMV). But HAV chief executive officer Stephen McGlennan told AIN that the company had made many  changes to the LEMV configuration before flying the Airlander 10. The most recent of these were leading-edge root extensions (LERX) added to the upper fins. The company previously added LERX to the lower fins. Other significant work has been done on the pressure management system involving the air ballonets and their valves that adjust for the expansion of helium as the vehicle gains altitude, to keep the structure rigid. The payload module below the vehicle’s centerline has been substantially modified, to provide flexibility for the demonstrations that HAV hopes to accomplish after the flight tests.

In a recent statement, HAV called on the UK government to fund one of these tests, which McGlennan said would be to explore the potential defense roles for the Airlander. While not discounting the commercial “remote lift” market, the company is currently placing more emphasis on surveillance applications. But the UK Ministry of Defence has yet to express any interest. McGlennan said that the U.S. Department of Defense “wants to see us fly,” but the Pentagon has not stated any requirement since the failed LEMV and Blue Devil airship programs in 2012.

Just prior to the first flight, HAV sought additional investment from existing shareholders of £2.2 million ($2.9 million), and from certain institutional investors, “to fund some aspects of the flight test program.” McGlennan said the company had already raised £17 million of equity since being founded in 2007, plus £6.7 million in grants, and (coincidentally) another £6.7 million which is debt owed to a few key shareholders, notably including HAV chairman Philip Gwyn.

HAV will not attempt to certify the prototype Airlander 10, which will therefore not be able to carry fare-paying passengers or commercial cargo. McGlennan told AIN that the non-recurring costs to develop a certified production version of the Airlander 10 would be £10 million to £20 million, depending on customer specifications and whether any further changes are required as a result of the flight test program.