Pathfinder 1: world's largest aircraft unveiled in California

The world's largest aircraft was unveiled in Silicon Valley yesterday, promising a new era in greener flight.

The airship "floated silently" from its "WW2-era hangar" at Nasa’s Moffett Field near San Jose at "walking pace", reported TechCrunch. It was steered by ropes held by dozens of engineers, technicians and ground crew.

Powered by 12 electric motors and capable of up to 75mph, Pathfinder 1 is 124.5 metres (408ft) in length – longer than three Boeing 737s. "There's a new airship in town," said Morning Brew, after the launch, which is backed by Google co-founder and "dirigible fanatic" Sergey Brin.

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It's the largest aircraft since the "gargantuan Hindenburg" airship of the 1930s, said TechCrunch. Although "similar in appearance to that ill-fated airship", Pathfinder 1 was "mostly built from the ground up using new materials and technologies", it added.

And "don't let the Hindenberg put you off the idea", said 2Oceans Vibe, because Pathfinder 1 will use "only non-flammable helium", as opposed to "explosive hydrogen", which was used by the German Hindenburg, which burst into flames and crashed to earth, with the loss of 36 lives, in May 1937.

It took 10 years, fraught with "blood, sweat, and tears", to create Pathfinder 1, which its creator, LTA Research, hopes will "kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel", and "accelerate the humanitarian work" of Brin, said TechCrunch.

LTA (which stands for 'lighter than air') plans to make even bigger airships that could eventually carry 200 tons of cargo each – approximately 10 times as much as a Boeing 737. The company also hopes to use the airships for relief missions in disaster zones.

Before all that, a series of "increasingly ambitious flight tests lie ahead", said TechCrunch. Initially, these tests will take place "just a few feet off the ground". Some "simple maneuvers around Moffett Field" will then be followed by "a series of flights out and over the Bay".