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World's longest aircraft retires to make way for production models
The world's longest aircraft has been sidelined... although that's not necessarily a bad thing. Hybrid Air Vehicles has decided against rebuilding its record-setting Airlander 10 prototype. The company will instead use its resources to create the "first batch" of production-grade Airlander 10s, CEO Stephen McGlennan said. The experimental vehicle provided the data necessary for future development, the executive added, leaving no reason to put it back in the skies.
Sergey Brin’s secret airship will deliver aid and schlep his family
Last month, news dropped that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is building an airship on the sly -- not a traditional airplane but an honest-to-god helium-filled dirigible. He insisted the project wasn't operating under the tech titan, even as his fellow co-founder backed a "flying car," it wasn't clear what Brin would be doing with the world's largest current aircraft. Now, details are starting to come out: Apparently, the zeppelin will split its time between delivering humanitarian supplies to remote locations and serving as a luxurious "air yacht" for Brin's friends and family.
Bloomberg: Google co-founder Sergey Brin has a 'secret airship'
A couple of days ago we got a good look at a "flying car" backed by Google's Larry Page, and now Bloomberg reports that Sergey Brin has a project too -- it's a zeppelin. The airship "which isn't an Alphabet project" is being built in a leased hangar at the NASA Ames Research Center, although it's unclear if there are any plans to make a business out of it. The report points to former NASA director Alan Weston as leader of the project, citing a radio interview where he described a helium-filled (it's actually flame-retardant) vehicle for cargo hauling and a LinkedIn profile that momentarily listed him as CEO of "Ltare."
ICYMI: This power tool might save you from yourself
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Shaper's Origin is designed to use augmented reality and an on-screen display to guide you through cutting wood pieces. And Australian National University researchers developed the most efficient solar receiver in the world. The chopstick piano video is here and the airship crashing in what looks like slo-mo; here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Longest-ever aircraft takes damage in second flight
The future of air travel may have to wait a while. Airlander 10, Hybrid Air Vehicles' cross between an airplane and airship, suffered damage at the end of its second test flight. The longest-ever aircraft wrecked its cockpit when it nosedived on landing. HAV reports that the crew is "safe and well," thankfully, but it's not clear how long this will delay the Airlander program. The company tells the BBC that it's waiting on the results of a debriefing before it provides more details.
World's longest aircraft takes its first flight
That aircraft you see above may look more than a little odd, but it just made history... and it might be the future of flight. Hybrid Air Vehicles has successfully flown the Airlander 10, a long-endurance airplane/airship hybrid billed as the longest aircraft ever at 302ft end to end. It was just a short, minutes-long trip around the countryside in UK's Bedfordshire, but it showed that the massive (if more than a little posterior-like) design is airworthy.
Check out Lockheed Martin's robotic blimp inspector
Lockheed Martin's hybrid airships are as big as a football field, and it's a huge challenge making sure their surfaces are don't have tiny pinholes in them. That's why the company developed a robot called Self-Propelled Instrument for Damage Evaluation and Repair or SPIDER to crawl on the vehicle's surface and conduct autonomous inspections. The aerospace corporation developed SPIDER under its top secret Skunk Works division, which was also responsible for making its helium-filled hybrid blimps. It's composed of two magnetic parts that snap together: one goes outside the blimp's envelope (or its surface, which is made of special balloon fabric) and the other goes inside.
Dungeons & Dragons Online launches Update 22
Are you ready to buckle your swash? Has your swash been buckled in anticipation? Do you own a variety of buckles and swashes? Because Dungeons & Dragons Online has just released Update 22 onto the live servers, and that means that Bards will have plenty of buckleswashing to do with the addition of the Swashbuckler enhancement line! Dance, parry, crack horrible puns, and stab at people while still retaining all of the usual song-based mechanics of Bards. It's free for everyone! Update 22 also includes an epic-level upgrade to Three Barrel Cove, perfectly complementing the newly swacklebushing methods of Bards. There are also major improvements to guild levels and guild airships, allowing guilds to hit level 200 while sporting new and improved facilities on new and improved airships. And there's new stuff in the cash shop, too, giving DDO players plenty to do if they ever tire of the interactions of swashes and buckles.
Goodyear's first new blimp design in 45 years... isn't actually a blimp
For 45 years, Goodyear has been using the same ole model for its Blimp fleet, famous for flashing ads in the skies and taking aerial shots of big events. Now, the tire company has finally launched the first dirigible in its next-generation fleet, and it's not even a blimp anymore -- it's a zeppelin. Considering blimp technology's remained largely the same all this time (imagine, the last time Goodyear bothered with a new design was when Apollo 11 landed on the moon), the switch is certainly understandable. This model (called Zeppelin NT) is capable of vertical take off and landing, and is larger and faster than the company's current airships, thanks to its three movable engines. Unlike traditional zeppelins with rigid structures, though, it's more of a zeppelin-blimp hybrid, as it relies both on internal pressure and a frame to maintain its shape.
PAX Prime 2013: Guns of Icarus Online's new Adventure mode, features, and PS4 version
Guns of Icarus' Online's concept of crewing airships in a steampunk future might be a little strange at first, but it's something that Muse Games is really passionate about. I linked up with founder Howard Tsao yesterday at PAX Prime to talk about the game's upcoming Adventure Mode, which will add new context to battles over the unfriendly skies. The new online mode won't replace Guns of Icarus' current lobby-based multiplayer mode, but it will add new content, including missions and factions to provide a backdrop for actions in the game's steampunk world.
Guns of Icarus adds new ship, upgrades chat and more
Now might be a good time to check in with Guns of Icarus Online if you're fond of steampunk airships or blowing them out of the sky. Muse Games' buy-to-play title recently updated to version 1.3 of its client, which adds a new ship type, a new gun, and plenty of upgrades to the game. The new ship is called the Mobula, and Muse says that it's ideal for both standoffs and pursuit. "Of course, this comes at a price," the company's press release says. "Its slow turning speed makes it vulnerable to flanking maneuvers, and its repair points are tucked away inside the hull." Also new this patch is the ability to form parties, assemble crews prior to entering a match, and a "bigger, better, faster, stronger" chat system. Various other systems have been tweaked, and we highly recommend visiting the official website to find out how.
Airships arrive in SimCity
The world's most whimsically impractical mode of transportation (read: airships) is now available to SimCity mayors willing to part with about $9. This means that Goodyear tire enthusiasts and steampunk aficionados alike can now bond even more deeply over their shared love of lighter-than-air travel, provided they've already bonded over their shared love of city-building games. Look, we're still working on this fanfic. The Airships Set, available on Origin for $8.99, includes an "Airship Hanger" for receiving/removing tourists, a "Commuter Airship Mooring" for local metropolitan commuters, two hot air balloon parks and "Event blimps" that appear during sporting events and the like. The set also includes two achievements, neither of which involve declaring the relative humanity of something, at least as far as we know.
Army spy blimp to launch within weeks: 300 feet long, $500 million, 'multi-intelligent'
It can't go faster than 34MPH and it's already a year late for its planned deployment in Afghanistan, but Northrop Grumman's Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) is now set for its maiden flight. The test run is scheduled for sometime between June 6th and 10th over Lakehurst, New Jersey, whose residents ought to be forewarned that it is not a solar eclipse or a Death Star, but simply a helium-filled pilotless reconnaissance and communications airship that happens to be the size of a football field. After floating around for a while, the giant dirigible is expected to journey south to Florida, where it'll be fitted to a custom-built gondola that will carry the bulk of its equipment, and by which time her enemies hopefully won't have come into possession of an air force.
PAX East 2012: Guns of Icarus announces closed beta, details adventure mode
STEAMPUNK! AHH! OK, now that that's out of my system, let's talk Guns of Icarus Online. This morning, I had the pleasure of meeting with some of the folks from Muse Games at PAX East to talk about the studio's upcoming steampunk-airship-battling title. The title is still in alpha testing, though it will be springing into the early stages of closed beta at some point in the next couple of weeks. At launch, the title will be focused on competitive, match-made PvP matches a la first-person-shooters. But this is Massively, so let's talk MMOs. Strictly speaking, I'd have to say Guns of Icarus Online isn't one -- at least not yet. After the initial match-based "skirmish" mode of the game is released, the studio will continue to support it by slowly adding in "adventure" mode features. Adventure mode is more akin to a traditional MMO in that it provide a more open world for players to navigate and explore, tradeskill and economy systems, missions, towns, and settlements, all within a persistent world. While it remains to be seen whether the game will ultimately become a "true" MMO, this stylish foray into the steampunk/dieselpunk genres is definitely one to watch. Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of April 6-8, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2012. Whether you're dying to know more about TERA or PlanetSide 2 or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
EverQuest video features new zone from Veil of Alaris expansion
EverQuest's latest content bomb was announced earlier this summer, and Sony Online Entertainment is slowly trickling out the details for the new Veil of Alaris patch. The game's 18th expansion will take players to a land long hidden by magic, and a new video gives us our first glimpse of the environment itself along with some of its ornerier inhabitants. Players will initially encounter the zone while traveling on a giant airship, and among the challenges are mobs made of molten steel as well as deadly free-floating swords. SOE's video clip features game designer David Stewart and environment artist Shannon Parnell discussing their work on the new zone, as well as various fly-through angles of the finished product. Check out all the details after the break.
'Miraculous' Aeros airship set to fly by 2013, thanks to DOD funding
Are you nostalgic for a time when the word "zeppelin" stood for leisurely intercontinental travel for the rich and famous, rather than bass-heavy portable sound and MotoBlur phones? Take heart, as Ukrainian entrepreneur Igor Pasternak claims to have solved the "buoyancy problem" that has long limited the usefulness of airships. The problem is that burning fuel or dropping cargo lightens the ship, which then needs to vent costly helium to return to earth; without a way to control buoyancy, take-offs and landings become complicated to the point of uselessness. Pasternak claims to have solved this sticking point by compressing the pricey gas, thereby conserving it for later use. The Defense Department (which loves its warblimps) has contracted his company, Aeros, to provide a working demonstration by 2012-13. Dubbed Pelican, it will only fly without a payload at first -- but if the technology proves feasible, we might just see a new Era of Airships.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-sustaining airships, turbine base jumpers, and the Sahara's solar oasis
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week opened with the exciting news that Norway and Jordan signed an agreement create a flourishing solar oasis in the scorching Sahara Desert. India also made waves as they announced the first tidal plant in Asia, and we took a look at a novel wind power tech that eschews noisy turbines for piezoelectric pads. We also rounded up our favorite wind-powered gadgets that don't blow, and you won't believe the latest extreme sport: wind turbine base jumping! In other news, green transportation took to the skies as we showcased a futuristic airship that generates its own fuel and a hydrogen-powered UAV that can stay aloft for up to a week. Meanwhile, back on earth we heard several major auto manufactures make exciting announcements as Chevrolet unveiled tech that could double the Volt's battery life and Toyota pulled back the curtain on an upgraded electric motor that requires less rare earth metals. This week we also shined a light on the world of energy-efficient illumination with our Green Lighting 101 guide, and we were blinded by the brilliance of Mischer Traxler's repurposed Relumine desk lamps. Finally, from the realm of wearable tech we brought you the solar-powered Androcell backpack that backs up your data, and we tested a handy alphabet flash card app for tech-savvy tots.
DDO offers a head start on update 5 with the Lamannia guild competition
Are you anxious to get your virtual hands on some of the new content coming in Dungeons and Dragons Online update 5? You and your guild may be able to get a jump on things before the update arrives, thanks to the new guild competition on Lamannia. Players can copy their guilds to Lamannia and join in a race to gain the most guild renown for a prize of 200 Astral Diamonds -- enough to purchase the Stormglory Bolt, the first ship in the luxury Stormglory line. This competition is more of a sprint than a marathon, so you'll want to hurry. Entries will be accepted through Monday night and winning guilds are announced on the 24th. Smaller guilds are at no disadvantage here, as the contest is divided into five tiers according to guild size. There will be one prize given within each tier. Ready to participate? Check out the contest information and rules, rally your guild, and good luck!
New DDO screenshots highlight airships
Airships are a big part of what's coming for Dungeons and Dragons Online update 5: Rise of the Guilds. We've gone from knowing nothing beyond "Ooh, pretty flying boats" to knowing quite a few details on acquisition, amenities, appearance, and so on. Today's latest round of screenshots highlights what we know a bit more. We've got a shot of an airship captain with a few interesting accessories lurking in the background, a group of ships traveling over the ocean, and a guild group digging into a chest full of goodies on their ship. We also got a peek at the absolutely gorgeous airship showroom -- seriously, take some time to look around on your first visit. The designers had a lot of fun with this one. Check out the gallery for the four newest images. %Gallery-94875%
Dungeons and Dragons Online getting guild airships in next update
We're not sure who clued Turbine into this particular fact, but our two favorite things on this earth are, in order: boats which use primitive yet impossible technology to travel through the skies, and owning property. The fifth major update to Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited will manage to incorporate both of these elements into the free-to-play MMO when it launches June 28. Not only will the update give your guild access to soaring, winged home bases, it will also add the "Carnival of Shadow" scenario to the game, which sounds like the worst carnival ever. Check out the game's blog for more information on this new adventure, or check out the gallery below to catch a few glimpses of DDO's pretty new airships. %Gallery-94199%