Not to be confused with the Aerocraft that was designed by the Skunk Works in the 1990s (see box, “The Road Not Needed”), the Aeroscraft is promoted by Aeroscraft Corp., which is led by entrepreneur and inventor Igor Pasternak. It is a very large rigid airship for cargo transport that Pasternak proposes to build in two sizes. The ML866 would be 555 feet long and carry 66 tons; while the ML868 would be 770 feet long and carry 250 tons.
A 266-foot-long demonstrator called Dragon Dream was built, inflated and tested on tether last year at Tustin, California, the former Marine Corps and airship base. It is a vertical lift machine that features a unique buoyancy management system, which provides the ability to offload heavy payloads without the need to re-ballast, according to Aeroscraft. Unfortunately, the demonstrator was badly damaged when its hangar roof partially collapsed last October. Aeroscraft is currently trying to raise up to $60 million in a stock offer. –C.P.
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