What is the Aeroscraft?
Measuring 152 metres (500 feet) long, luxury liner Aeroscraft will hold 180 passengers as they cruise at 222 kilometres (138 miles) per hour. Travellers can admire the view afforded by floor-to-ceiling windows as the floating giant hovers 3,658 metres (12,000 feet) over the Earth.
Aeros describes it as the only next-gen airship capable of truly vertical takeoff and landing; even hybrid airships need a running start to achieve lift. On the Aeroscraft, rapid ascent is powered by a combination of the ship’s store of helium and six turbofan jet engines. The difference between Aeroscraft and other airships is an internal ballast system called Dynamic Buoyancy Management.
When an airship loads or unloads cargo, the change in weight must be counterbalanced by adding or removing ballast else the vehicle will be too heavy to fly or too light to navigate. Instead of loading and unloading water ballast during takeoff and landing, the Aeroscraft can adjust internal buoyancy by taking in air from the outside and compressing it in internal compartments.