The airborne whale's smooth, white belly floats across the sky, casting a shadow on the woodland below.
The "whale" has relatively little in common with its animal namesake, other from its immense size. It's an airship, and French aerospace company Flying Whales hopes that its helium-lift, hybrid-electric vehicle will alter the face of environmentally friendly transportation.
The airship could assist solve the dilemma of how to move freight "where infrastructure is missing, or just doesn't exist at all," says Romain Schlack, Flying Whales' head of communications. "We are going to open up new opportunities for global logistics while addressing challenges and issues locally."
From more than 150 years ago, airship technology has been used to transport people and goods across land and water. But, their use only really took off in the early 1900s.
Airships were unable to keep up with faster and more sophisticated warplanes, though. Later, in 1937, the Hindenburg airship caught fire and exploded, killing 36 people and thus ending the era of flying machines. Over 90 years later, enthusiasm for lighter-than-air travel is growing again.
the HIDENBURG disaster
Airships could be a sustainable option for logistics all around the world because they have low carbon emissions and don't need expensive ground infrastructure like airports or roads because they can load and unload cargo while hovering.
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