AIRSHIP FLIGHT TESTS FROM SITE 9 HANGAR.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - A Tarzana company is using part of the former B-1B bomber assembly plant as a base for flight testing an airship airship, an aircraft that consists of a cigar-shaped gas bag, or envelope, filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide lift, a propulsion system, a steering mechanism, and a gondola accommodating passengers, crew, and cargo. that can be used for surveillance missions. Aeros is flight testing its 40B ``Sky Dragon,'' a 143-foot-long lighter-than-air craft Noun 1. lighter-than-air craft - aircraft supported by its own buoyancy aircraft - a vehicle that can fly airship, dirigible - a steerable self-propelled aircraft balloon - large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air from Site 9, adjacent to Air Force Plant 42. Aeros is leasing one of the two massive hangars at Site 9 where the B-1B fleet was produced in the 1980s and has more recently been used as a soundstage for the filming of the movie ``The Terminal'' with Tom Hanks Noun 1. Tom Hanks - United States film actor (born in 1956) Hanks, Thomas J. Hanks . ``We're using Site 9 to carry out flight testing and pilot training for the airship,'' said company vice president Fred Edworthy. ``We can't say a lot.'' Company officials are planning an event on March 22 in which they will be able to disclose who their customer is for the project. The work, which involves a cadre of about 12 workers, is expected to wrap up in early April. The company will conduct about another 20 hours of flying with the airship. In general, the flights will be conducted in the morning before the afternoon winds pick up, Edworthy said. The craft is able to fly up to 7,500 feet in altitude at up to 51 mph and stay aloft for 24 hours Adv. 1. for 24 hours - without stopping; "she worked around the clock" around the clock, round the clock . The company is operating out of Site 9 on a 90-day lease with Los Angeles World Airports Los Angeles World Airports or LAWA is the airport oversight and operations department for the city of Los Angeles, California. This department owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport, LA/Ontario International Airport, Palmdale Regional Airport, and Van , but there is a possibility of additional work in Palmdale. The company is among those seeking contracts from the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency to develop technologies for an airship that would be capable of transporting personnel and equipment to battle areas. DAPRA envisions an airship able to transport 500 tons across intercontinental distances and would be capable of operating from unimproved landing sites. Site 9 would be an ideal place to conduct work on the program, Edworthy said. DAPRA is expected to award as many as three contracts in June under the first phase of the program, which is dubbed Walrus walrus, marine mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, found in Arctic seas. Largest of the fin-footed mammals, or pinnipeds (see seal), the walrus is also distinguished by its long tusks and by cheek pads bearing quill-like bristles. . Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV edition only) Tarzana-based Aeros' airship Sky Dragon descends for a landing Thursday next to U.S. Air Force Plant 42. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion