BySergei Bendin
Moscow. 06 May 2022. In the last week of April 2022, the Moscow Association of Enthusiast Engineers from the Airship Initiative Design Bureau Aerosmena (AIDBA), which is the Spastrade Company’s division, finally completed the penultimate stage of R&D associated with the formation of the final appearance of a promising lenticular new generation airship.
At the design heart of such aeroplatform (now this is how engineers call airships of a new type), the engineers of the AIDBA set the principle of lifting force control, which allows, within the framework of maneuvering, landing and other operations, to quickly change the “status” of such an airship, turning it from an aircraft “lighter than air” into one “heavier than air”.
This concept opens up huge opportunities for the operation of such air platforms without special ground infrastructure (hangars, mooring masts, runways), which will allow landing literally in the field, as well as transporting according to the optimal door-to-door logistics scheme.
The base engineering solution is the aerostatic principle “Rosier” : it means non-loaded construction of such airship will fly due to light gas (helium or hydrogen) which situted inside of upper part of the hull, and heated ordinary atmospheric air inside of giant cavity will be used to transport the any payload aboard (cargo/passengers). Moreover, the internal cavity with hot air will also allow heating the “bags” with light gas, which will not only give additional buoyancy to the airship, but also rid the entire surface of icing.
Multifunctional of aeroplatforms by AIDBA is approached thanking to the “park” of specialized modules which have to attached to the board the main driven aeroplatform like “locomotive” having hull diameter 160 meters.
Any ordinary aeroplatform will be able to change the specification quickly. For example: after completing some ordered firefighting work and unhooking a functional module with water tanks, hoses and other fire-ward equipment, the “locomotive” Aerosmena in frame of next flight order will attach specialized module for luxury travelling and start its adventure with passengers aboard toward sight place as far distanced as hundreds and thousands of kilometers.
The Aerosmena aeroplatform is designed as an unmanned aircraft with a developed navigation system that combines remote dispatching from the ground, onboard flight control systems with elements of “artificial intelligence” and satellite route correction.
AIDBA engineers soon have to start on to the last pre-industrial stage of R&D, which is goaled at the formation of two on-board systems: an innovative on-board power supply system and unmanned flight control based on elements of “artificial intelligence”.
Having completed the R&D, the project of the first prototype of the Aerosmena will be prepared for the next to industrial stage, i.e. the first prototype of the aeroplatform will be able to be started to manufacture.
The AIDBA team chez Spastrade company (LLC) hopes on stability investment from serious requester to launch the building its hybrid aeroplatforms on 20, 60, 200 and 600 tons payload. With stable budget AIDBA, promises in 3 years the first prototype on the 20 tons payload will be built, which, after certification during year, will be able to start regular operation.
It takes to note: the financial costs for the construction of the first prototype will be many times lower than for the program of any transport aircraft. For comparison: programs for the development and production of Airbus aircraft The Beluga XL, with a payload capacity of just 50.5 tons, cost $1.2 billion. And the program to create a transport aircraft Lockheed C-130J “Super Hercules“ for 37 tons – 1.4 billion US dollars.
It good dream to welcomу in already 5 years to fly at the first long distance adventure trip on the the UFO saucer Aerosmena!
For several years, since 2015 the AIDBA as the Spastrade Co. (LLC) division has been designing project of the new generation airship with UFO-shape outer hull under the design index “Aerosmena multifunctional thermal ballasted transport aeroplatform”.
AIDBA traces its history from the landmark Russian project “Thermoplan”, heavy-duty transport airship, which was developed by engineers of the Moscow Aviation Institute under the Academician Yuri Ryzhov patronage. For the construction of the prototype, by order of the President of Russia in 1992, 18 million dollars were allocated from the state budget. Unfortunately, during the first test of the 40-meter Thermoplan lenticular prototype, which was built at the Ulyanovsk Aviation Plant, wrecked before premier flight at runway. After that, funding for the project stopped.
Since 2005, the engineer ex-group of the Thermoplan project was continued its design works of the “flying saucer” under the Locomosky company funding. During 5 years of construction, developing it was spent about $ 10 million. To 2010 when Locomosky was named bankruptcy there were several lenticular models built: they successfully passed test blowdowns in the TsAGI wind tunnel. There was also the successfully mathematical models tests in the MAI laboratory. After the Locomoskay Company closing, some of the designers decided to continue design work on an initiative basis. Since 2015, this team of enthusiasts of LTA works as AIDBA independent group perfecting its aeroplatform design. In base of the aeroplatform, Aerosmena set four key options: thermal ballasting, a multi-level control system, wing aerodynamics, and multifunctionality.
Today, AIDBA, division of “Spastrade”, are ready to the industrial stage of the manufacturing of “saucer” aeroplatforms on 20, 60, 200 and 600 tons payload.
Sergei Bendin is the CEO in the Aerosmena project/AIDBA chez SpasTrade LLC. The views in the article are solely the author’s. He can be contacted at editor.adu@gmail.com).
