Peter Jess, president of SkyHook International, isn’t sure what to call the new aircraft he recently contracted The Boeing Company to build.
Officially, the football-field-sized, blimp-shaped, helium-filled aircraft — designed for short distances and heavy loads — is called the Jess Heavy Lifter 40 (JHL-40).
The designer, SkyHook, and the manufacturer, Boeing, claim that the aircraft will have two-and-a-half times the carrying capacity (80,000 pounds) while using half the horsepower of the world’s current heavy-lifting helicopter, the Russian-built MI-26.
Unofficially Jess called the JHL-40 a “blimp on steroids” during a recent press conference.
But that’s not entirely accurate, he admits.
The JHL-40 is “heavier than a blimp but lighter than an airplane,” said Jess. “It’s an entirely new kind of aircraft.”
Tuesday, July 29, 2008