Aeros’ 40D ‘Sky Dragon’ Enters Final Assembly Stage

Aeroscraft Corporation (Aeros), a leading FAA-certified lighter-than-air (LTA) manufacturer and technology innovator, announced today that another 40D airship S/N A40D-22 is entering final stages of production before entering service in the spring of this year.

The 40D Sky Dragon is designed to accommodate a market demand for airships capable of multi-mission applications, ranging from advertising and broadcast camera work, to serving as a sensor platform while maintaining low operational costs and extended time on station. The Sky Dragon’s digital flight management system and fly-by-wire technology delivers the next step in the evolution of the airship industry.

The 40D can also support numerous airborne ISR missions (intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance), providing a quiet and stable aerial platform with long endurance and slow-loiter capabilities. In doing so, the 40D provides cost effective and flexible operations, and can also be an effective command platform for other aerial assets.

The ‘40D Sky Dragon’ features:

• stronger and lighter envelope fabrics that improve helium impermeability
• a fly-by-wire flight control system providing exceptional manoeuvrability and control
• reduced requirements for ground handling personnel

The airship provides operators with day/night observation with digital recording for post-mission analysis, digital moving map display integrated with flight data for precise geo-locating, and data links LOS (line-of-sight) to 150 Km. The 40D Sky Dragon is certified to operate in controlled airspace, including U.S., European and Asian regions.

The Sky Dragon is now being evaluated for a multi mission role that will include the traditional market branding and event broadcasting combined with security surveillance that utilizes state of the art recognition software that will assist the security forces at major public gatherings. The airship is particularly well suited for such a role due to general associations with aerial advertising and they are often less intrusive or disruptive to ground activities than helicopters, whose presence and noise tend to provoke reaction from those on the ground.

“In the past, the role of an airship has been very specific,” explains Fred Edworthy, VP of Business Development at Aeros, “However, with the right equipment and integration its role is changing to a accommodate the need for greater event and infrastructure security without being obtrusive.”

Specifications

Airship Length:          46.6 m
Max Flight Speed:     82 km/h
Flight Controls:         ‘Fly-by-Wire’
Flight Crew:                 Certified for Single  Pilot
Operating:                    VFR / IFR Certified
Number of Seats:     4 Pax / Pilot

For more information on airship and aerostat products, please contact Mr. Fred Edworthy at (323) 201-8304 or fred.edworthy(at)aeroscraft(dot)com, or Sr. program manager Mario Pantuso at mario.pantuso(at)aeroscraft(dot)com.

via – Digital Journal.