<p>The world's "largest aircraft" has embarked on its maiden flight, four days after a previous attempt was abandoned due to technical issues.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Airlander 10 -- part plane, part airship -- yesterday took to the skies amid cheers and applause from crowds gathered at an airfield in Cardington, central England.<br /><br />The successful flight comes 85 years after another airship -- the ill-fated R101 -- took off from the same airfield in October 1930 before crashing in France, killing 48 people and effectively ending the development of airships in Britain.<br /><br />Originally developed for the US army as a surveillance aircraft, the 92-metre-long Airlander 10, also has potential uses in the commercial sector, such as carrying cargo, according to makers Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV).<br /><br />The firm, which describes the Airlander as the "largest aircraft currently flying", received a British government grant of USD 3.7 million to develop the project.<br /><br />The Airlander can fly at up to 4,880 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour, according to HAV.<br /><br />Filled with helium, it can stay airborne for more than two weeks unmanned and up to five days if manned.<br /><br />Its first flight was delayed on Sunday due to a technical fault, which was resolved in time for the aircraft to take off in clear weather conditions for yesterday's 30-minute flight.<br />HAV CEO Stephen McGlennan said the aircraft was cheaper and greener than helicopter technology.<br /><br />"It's a great British innovation. It's a combination of an aircraft that has parts of normal fixed wing aircraft, it's got helicopter, it's got airship," he said.<br /><br />A project to develop the aircraft for surveillance use by the US military was shelved due to budget cuts. <br /></p>
<p>The world's "largest aircraft" has embarked on its maiden flight, four days after a previous attempt was abandoned due to technical issues.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Airlander 10 -- part plane, part airship -- yesterday took to the skies amid cheers and applause from crowds gathered at an airfield in Cardington, central England.<br /><br />The successful flight comes 85 years after another airship -- the ill-fated R101 -- took off from the same airfield in October 1930 before crashing in France, killing 48 people and effectively ending the development of airships in Britain.<br /><br />Originally developed for the US army as a surveillance aircraft, the 92-metre-long Airlander 10, also has potential uses in the commercial sector, such as carrying cargo, according to makers Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV).<br /><br />The firm, which describes the Airlander as the "largest aircraft currently flying", received a British government grant of USD 3.7 million to develop the project.<br /><br />The Airlander can fly at up to 4,880 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour, according to HAV.<br /><br />Filled with helium, it can stay airborne for more than two weeks unmanned and up to five days if manned.<br /><br />Its first flight was delayed on Sunday due to a technical fault, which was resolved in time for the aircraft to take off in clear weather conditions for yesterday's 30-minute flight.<br />HAV CEO Stephen McGlennan said the aircraft was cheaper and greener than helicopter technology.<br /><br />"It's a great British innovation. It's a combination of an aircraft that has parts of normal fixed wing aircraft, it's got helicopter, it's got airship," he said.<br /><br />A project to develop the aircraft for surveillance use by the US military was shelved due to budget cuts. <br /></p>