Home » Technology » Airships of the future: France leading the race with Flying Whales

Airships of the future: France leading the race with Flying Whales

The dirigible balloons are almost ready for takeoff. And one of the most promising projects in this area is French: the Gironde start-up Flying Whales has, in fact, raised 122 million euros and its LCA60T could take off for the first time in 2024.

Their mission: to open up isolated areas by minimizing their environmental footprint. Their means: a dirigible balloon capable of loading and unloading up to 60 tonnes of freight while hovering. Capable of reaching hard-to-reach areas, these machines should, in the long term, allow the implementation of sustainable exceptional transport of heavy loads in remote areas.

The Flying Whales balloons are promising and the French start-up has just raised some 122 million euros. The French State, through French Tech Souveraineté, Safran and Thalès, has just joined this large-scale project.

200 meters long and 50 meters in diameter

These flying whales, whose code name is LCA60T, will notably be able, in the near future, to allow the delivery of emergency equipment or mobile hospitals to sites affected by a humanitarian emergency. Equipped with a hold 96 meters long, eight meters wide and seven meters high, the LCA60T is able to take off and land vertically and thus reach very difficult to access points. Thanks to hybrid and soon to be fully electric propulsion, the start-up promises, flying whales will have very low and soon zero emissions.

New industrial era of cargo transport

This giant airship project should make it possible to “design a new industrial era of low-carbon cargo transport”. These flying whales resemble the famous zeppelins of the early 20e century, and recall the most emblematic of them, the famous LZ 129 Hindenburg which burst into flames when it landed on May 6, 1937, costing the lives of 35 people. This accident (probably due to a spark, generated by the metal cables provided to secure it on landing, which ignited the dihydrogen and by the diesel fuel from the engines) had marked the end of the operation of the zeppelins.

But unlike the versions of the last century, the new generation dirigible balloons have a rigid structure and are powered by an inert gas: they thus offer optimal safety.

The first flight of the LCA60T is expected for 2024 and its commercial operation expected for 2025 or 2026.

Also read: Celerat 500L: a revolutionary hydrogen-powered aircraft

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.