In the United States of America, LTA Research, a company owned by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has presented the Pathfinder 1, a prototype of an electrically powered airship. The first official driving tests are now being carried out. The special feature: In contrast to other projects, it is a rigid airship. 

According to the company's announcement, extensive tests will be carried out in the next few weeks. These are necessary in order to obtain type approval from the FAA. Among other things, reliability and safety must be demonstrated. The test drives have already been approved by the authorities. 

The Pathfinder 1 is the first airship built since the end of the Zeppelins' heyday to be designed as a so-called rigid airship. This technology was used by well-known airships in the 1920s and 1930s such as the D-LZ127 “Graf Zeppelin” and D-LZ129 “Hindenburg”. The last rigid airship to be fully assembled was the D-LZ130 “Graf Zeppelin II”. Before it was scrapped, it only undertook a few propaganda, espionage and test trips. 

The most important difference between the Pathfinder 1 and the airships from its heyday lies in the lifting gas. In the past, combustible hydrogen was used. The noble gas helium will be used in the new building. However, the US project cannot come close to the enormous size of the “Hindenburg” and its sister ship “Graf Zeppelin II”. The D-LZ129 was 245 meters long. 

The Pathfinder 1 reaches 121,9 meters and is therefore considerably longer than the Boeing 747-8, which “only” reaches 76,2 meters. The historic Zeppelins were powered by gasoline or diesel engines. The new airship will have 12 electric motors. The cruising speed should be 120 kilometers per hour. This is roughly at the same level as the historical Zeppelins, reaching a speed of around 128 kilometers per hour. The Zeppelin NT, which is not a rigid airship but a semi-rigid airship, reaches 125 km/h. 

The Pathfinder 1 is currently planned as a pure freighter. The initiators, which also include Google co-founder Sergey Brin, are of the opinion that gaps can be closed due to the high capacity. The range is enormous because the electricity required can be generated, for example, using solar cells while driving. The airship is probably too slow for urgent goods, but for short and medium-haul routes as well as for non-time-critical freight, they think they have found an alternative. 

This is not the only airship LTA Research has in development. For example, an extended version of the Pathfinder 3 is planned. The hull is said to be 182 meters long. This doesn't yet come close to the largest airships of all time, but who knows what the future will bring. 

First of all, it's about getting freighters into the air. Those responsible also emphasize that they want to create an alternative to environmentally friendly air travel. This at least suggests that a passenger variant could at least be an option. Since there are currently various startups that are pushing forward similar projects, it remains to be seen whether and which concepts can prevail.