4 ms·

Soooo...they reinvented a blimp, strapped on some gimballed cameras and are using a proprietary equivalent to ArduPilot? One of my hobbies is FPV RC planes/qua

• ChuckMcM 14y ago
  Actually its a dirigible according to the render (rigid structure) and it has exploited the same "design innovation" that the Australian company [1] did which is that by making is a saucer shape you avoid some of the stationkeeping issues as the vehicle presents a uniform air resistance profile in every direction. I wonder though who the target market is for this thing which is clearly out looking for funding. Given the scale on the render by a hanger it seems to be quite large, and while being predominantly clear would have it be hard to spot at altitude its overall size and the slow maneuverability of gas filled aircraft suggests it would be an easy target. It doesn't seem to have the payload to carry a communication substation (another proposed application of long loiter aircraft) thus the market seems like it might be drug lords wanting surveillance around their home base (always a bad idea since its also a flag "here is my home base") or perhaps border patrol. The good news is that being specialized you only have a few possible customers and you can quickly ascertain if they will buy from you or not thus you won't waste a lot of time. [1] http://skylifter.com.au/ http://skylifter.com.au/