Sergey Brin, the man behind Google is an influential man and can boast of himself having built the world’s largest search engine. Now he’s partaking in something different. He’s looking to build the world’s largest aircraft.
No, it’s not a plane, he’s planning to build a blimp that is said to be about 200 meters long. It’s said that Brin has had a love for airships for quite some time. This is more than likely true considering the number of times, Google has flown private jets out of the NASA Ames Airfield. The airfield is home to the Navy airship, USS Macon. Let’s get to see what the aircraft is all about.
What’s the Aircraft like?
The details about the aircraft aren’t widely available. All we know is that it’s a blimp and that it’s going to be huge. The blimp is expected to be 200 meters long. It’s being constructed near Google headquarters at Nasa’s Ames airfield in Mountain View, California.
This blimp by today’s standards is going to be the largest aircraft when complete. It has to be pointed out that this blimp will be smaller when compared to the Hindenburg Zeppelin. For now, the blimp is meant to be a secret, that’s why it’s being built far away without the public’s knowledge.
Why build the Blimp?
A love for one for starters. It is said that Sergey has had some interest in blimps for quite some time. It’s believed that he is building the ship for the purposes of humanitarian missions. It’s going to be used to supply food and water to remote locations.
A worthy cause, really considering how hard some of these remote locations are to access especially during times of crisis. On top of that, the blimp is also going to be used as an “air yacht” by Brin, family, and friends.
Who is Building it?
The Google co-founder plans to self-finance the construction of the entire aircraft. The price tag for the project is currently being placed between $100 million to $150 million. The project is owned by Planetary Ventures, a Google controlled company.
In addition to that, Alan Weston is said to be working on the design aspect of the project. There’s a long strew of companies which each being owned by another company, but in the end, they all tie up to Sergey Brin.
For instance, Alan Weston works for LTA Research and Exploitation that is owned by Clock LLC (a company affiliated to Alphabet). You see what we’re talking about.
Conclusion
The final details about the aircraft are that it plans to use internal gas bladders. This system helps to balance off the blimp when a large load, of say humanitarian aid, is taken off. The bladders will help the blimp maintain buoyancy even after the loss of large load.
How this system will work is yet to be known, but what is known is that the company is using Helium for its gas option. The blimp might be a secret for now, but not for long. A test ride for such an Aircraft will be impossible to hide.
