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Alliance, OH -- Last week, the Dynalifter hybrid aircraft prototype received its Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA, marking the end of ground testing and the beginning of flight testing. Ohio Airships, Inc., makers of the Dynalifter, have been eagerly awaiting this moment. Robert Rist, Co-Founder of Ohio Airships commented, “This is great news for Ohio, the United States, and the underdeveloped nations of the world. The introduction of fuel-efficient cargo aircraft could greatly reduce the need for new highway construction and expansion, while reducing our dependency on oil.” The Dynalifter is a hybrid of helium blimp and fixed-wing airplane. This design offers both the low fuel costs associated with blimps and the weather handling of airplanes. In an age of high fuel costs and increased turmoil in oil-producing nations, Ohio Airships hopes to present an economical alternative for commercial, military, and disaster relief cargo transport. Since the company’s inception in 1999, Ohio Airships has acquired a US patent, conducted numerous feasibility studies, wind tunnel testing, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD’s), and is now in the proof-of-concept stage. The two-seat Dynalifter prototype has successfully undergone 11 ground tests and the company is poised to begin flight testing. In a deal made last month, Laminar Research, makers of the popular X-Plane flight simulator, agreed to support the Dynalifter prototype project by placing a large banner reading “X-Plane.com” on the side of their 120-ft prototype. In addition to the banner, Ohio Airships plans to promote the sale of X-Plane simulation software on their website and offer free downloads of various Dynalifter models designed for use in X-Plane. According to Brian Martin, Ohio Airships’ other Co-Founder, “X-Plane is an amazing piece of technology. We have been able to input the unique specifications of our prototype into X-Plane and used it as a flight simulator. Also, we have been able to confirm many of the results from our $500,000 of wind tunnel tests and engineering studies using a $50 piece of software that can be bought from a store shelf.” Martin continued, “A Laminar Research sponsorship is a perfect fit for the Dynalifter. Not only is their product relevant to our prototype, but we will be able to test Dynalifters as a promotional tool to sell others’ products. Blimp companies are currently offering aerial advertising for as much as $480,000 per month; that’s over $5M per year. Our first 5 or so Dynalifters may simply carry advertisements, so that we can demonstrate the technical concept while financing the larger models. This plan has proved appealing to investors.” Ohio Airships, Inc. is a research & development company located in Mantua, Ohio. The company's business is bringing breakthrough aircraft technology to the marketplace. Ohio Airships currently owns the Dynalifter aircraft’s conceptual airframe designs, a US patent for its unique internal configuration, and a 120-ft manned prototype. You can learn more about Dynalifters at http://www.dynalifter.com. |
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