Flying catamaran will “restart” the era of giant airships
Flying catamaran will "restart" the era of giant airships
In the 2020s, mankind rushed into the sky en masse – on copters, hovercraft, private spaceships and other original vehicles. Designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini has decided to support this trend and try to breathe life into the undeservedly forgotten class of huge and luxurious airships. His creation, still in concept form, is called “Air Yacht” and is a unique flying catamaran.
An airship with a single, albeit huge, compartmentalized chamber is always vulnerable. A structure with two 150-meter-long hulls filled with 400,000 cubic meters of helium has a better chance of avoiding an accident. Not only does it fly at 110 km/h, but it can also land and then successfully float at up to 9 km/h to safety. The airship has eight rotors with pivoting mechanisms, thanks to which it can skillfully maneuver in three dimensions, hover in the air and even glide.
Between the two side chambers there is a central gondola, 80 m long and 10 m wide, which houses the control cabin and the owner’s luxurious cabin. The latter will have a 360-degree view, separate exits to the spacious dining area and to the helicopter deck – an airship of this size simply has to have such an element. Guests are proposed to be accommodated in 10 staterooms with helium chambers outside, where they will have a great view from the windows.
There are closed passages between all sections of the Air Yacht, the cabins are equipped with sanitary facilities, and there is an extensive food storage and wine shop on board. Battery life is only sufficient for 48 hours of cruising, but a set of solar panels is located on the modules, allowing the vehicle to drift leisurely for virtually unlimited time. The concept has a completely carbon-neutral footprint, and is itself intended to serve as an example of a beautiful and luxurious, yet completely environmentally friendly means of transportation.