Roger Munk, R.I.P. | Aviation International News

Roger Munk, R.I.P.

Airship pioneer led a series of British companies specializing in lighter-than-air technology for nearly 40 years.

By Chris Pocock • Defense Correspondent

July 15, 2014

Roger Munk’s sudden and untimely death in February 2010 at the age of 62 robbed the airship industry of a true pioneer. He had led a series of British companies specializing in lighter-than-air technology (LTA) for nearly 40 years. HAV was his latest company, founded in 2007 to take forward the hybrid concepts that, he eventually concluded, offered more promise for the future than conventional airships. Before that, his life had been starred with technical success and marred with financial failure.

Success included the first airship to incorporate modern polyester materials and full-authority vectored thrust–the Skyship 500 in 1980; jet-powered bow thrusters and fly-by-light controls on a large airship–the Sentinel 1000 for the U.S. Navy in 1990; and the first hybrid air vehicle with a hovercraft-style air cushion landing gear–the Sky Kitten subscale demonstrator in 2000.

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