World’s longest aircraft revealed: 300ft-long 'airship' is unveiled in the UK and hailed as a 'game changer'

The dust sheets have finally been thrown off the world's longest aircraft in the UK’s largest hanger, the Daily Mail reports.

The monster vehicle- part plane, part airship and part helicopter - was today unveiled in all its 300ft (91m) long glory.

That makes it almost as long as Big Ben is high, and 60ft (18m) longer than the biggest airliners, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8.

It is also almost 30ft (8m) longer than the airlift cargo aircraft Antonov An-225, which was until now the longest aircraft ever built.

Known as the HAV304, the giant aircraft is being displayed at Cardington in Bedfordshire in the only hangar big enough to accommodate the 113ft (34m) wide and 85ft (26m) high beast.

Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden and a high-profile investor in the aircraft, compared the ship to Thunderbird 2 and described it as a 'game changer.'

'It will be able to cross the Atlantic and launch things right where they need to be,' he told Radio 4’s Today program.

'It can reach about 100mph and stay airborne for about three-and-a-half weeks.'

The low carbon ship, known as the HAV304, doesn't require a runway to take off and is thought to be about 70 per cent more environmentally friendly than a cargo plane.

It is due to fly in the UK later this year and is designed to stay airborne for up to three weeks to help with activities such as surveillance, communications and delivering aid.

Created by Hybrid Air Vehicles and first flown in the U.S, the ultra-green HAV304 project has just received a £2.5 million grant from the UK government.

It looks like giant airship but it has a unique aerodynamic shape that means it can also create lift just like an aeroplane wing. The cambered shape provides up to 40 per cent of the vehicle’s lift.

This allowed engineers make the machine heavier than air, removing the need for crew to hang onto ropes to hold it down. A number of ballonets fore and aft in each of the hulls provide pressure control.

The aircraft is powered by four 350 hp, four litre V8 direct injection, turbocharged diesel engines. Two engines mounted forward on the hull and two on the stern of the hull for cruise operation.

The plan is that the HAV304 will eventually lead to the development of the Airlander 50, which would be able to transport 50 tons of freight.

The huge aircraft combines the best of aeroplane, airship and helicopter design. HAV believes there could be a world market for between 600 and 1,000 of these aircraft.

For the time being, the company plans to produce around 10 a year for the next four or five years. This is expected to lead to the creation of 1,800 jobs in the Bedfordshire area.

‘The growing aerospace sector has the potential to generate thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds to the UK economy in contracts,’ business secretary Vince Cable said today.

‘That is why so much effort is being put in by government and industry to ensure we stay ahead of the competition and build on our strong position as second in the world for aerospace.’

He added: ‘As part our long-term industrial strategy we are jointly funding £2 billion of research and development into the next generation of quieter, more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly planes.

‘That includes backing projects like HAV's innovative low-carbon aircraft which can keep us at the cutting edge of new technology. Here is a British company that has the potential to lead the world in its field.’

Cardington hangar, which now houses the aircraft, was built 100 years ago and is where they built the ill-fated airship, R101, in the 1920s.

The R101 was twice as long as the hybrid air vehicle and had a dining room and lounge on board. However, it was engulfed by fire after it crashed in France in 1930.