On 10 May 2012, we successfully tested the M1400 airship tail fins – per the onsite FAA Designated Engineering Representative overseeing the test. The tail fin test represents the last major technical milestone prior to airship first flight.
As we near the end game for M1400 completion, I thought it would be instructive to review all of the other significant milestones that the M1400 development team has completed over the course of the effort.
Envelope and ballonet: Mav6 and its vendor TCOM have designed, engineered, and built the largest airship hull produced in the last 55 years, produced the largest airship hull in history constructed of synthetic materials, and developed the largest ballonet system (by 200%) ever installed in a traditional low-medium altitude airship, pioneering the use of the “tank-body” ballonet to control the large fluid volume (allowing flights at 20,000 feet). Dimensionally the M1400 is the world’s largest aircraft, airship, and UAV.
Pressurization System: Mav6 has implemented a hydraulic ballonet pressurization system that enables an unprecedented maximum climb and dive rate of 3,000 feet per minute, the most aggressive rates ever developed for an airship. This entailed development of the most powerful airship pressurization fan ever built, the largest custom valves and ports of their type in 55 years, the most sophisticated electronic ballonet contents measurement system ever built, and custom, purpose-developed actuators and controls for the contents measurement system.
Diesel propulsion system: Mav6 adapted a certified base diesel engine that was limited by a short-life gearbox with an incorrect gear ratio into a high-efficiency airship propulsion / power generation / hydraulic system, entailing development of custom designed and built transmission, i.e. the Propeller Speed Reduction Unit (“PSRU”). Mav6 also custom designed and built a variable propeller pitch control system without the use of a traditional propeller governor; a custom combination of existing propeller hubs and blades to produce a high-efficiency propeller for long-endurance flight; and a custom engine cooling and air induction system to allow for the propulsion system to run at full power and zero airspeed in conditions up to 135° F with no overheating.
Vertical Take Off and Landing (“VTOL”) propulsion system: In order to maximize the military utility of such a large vehicle, Mav6 developed a system to produce the world’s only VTOL airship, which entailed custom adaptation of an existing turboprop engine to be able to vector a near-180 degree range; design, development, and test of a custom vectoring system to mount and maneuver the engine through that range (while at nearly 5,000 lbs of thrust); development of a full electric/electronic engine control system (for an otherwise analog engine) to allow for the engine control under UAV operation; the creation of a completely original remote re-oil system allowing for the servicing of the distantly placed turbine engines from car servicing points; and delivery at a fraction of the cost of similar systems.
Fuel system: Mav6 developed a custom fuel system able to support six engines of three different types, widely dispersed around a massive aircraft.
Landing gear: After determining that no existing landing gear system would be available and adaptable within schedule, Mav6 proceeded to design, build, and test a custom landing gear system and strut, the largest such system for an airship in over 50 years.
Nose cone and battens: The M1400 airship features the world’s largest airship nose cone and battens.
Flight control and vehicle control systems: Mav6 and its vendor Rockwell Collins have developed a triple-redundant digital fly-by-wire flight control system and vehicle control system to manage, monitor, and control all systems on the airship. The system includes capability to operate in manned and unmanned configurations. Specifically, the scale of this program is five-to-seven times larger than typical flight controls programs in both engineering labor and number of items to be integrated and controlled.
Ground equipment: In order to support airship launch and recovery, Mav6 custom designed and built the world’s largest nose latch system, the world’s largest airship tripod mast (the largest mast built in over 50 years), the world’s largest airship expeditionary mast, uniquely configured to easily break down and be transported on its self-contained trailer, and the first ground auto-ballast system ever built for an airship, capable of transferring fuel on and off the airship automatically.
In addition Mav6 has accepted delivery of the C2 Ground Station for the airship, is ready to deliver an FPED Ground Station to the Government, and is approximately 90-95% complete on development and integration of the most robust airborne Mission Payload multi-INT architecture available today.
All of these accomplishments have led Mav6 to the completion stage of the first six-engine airship since the days of the massive Zeppelins. The M1400 is a VTOL aircraft with unmatched flexibility in payload capacity, and it has been developed at a fraction of the cost and schedule of most other aircraft developed today.
And one final note for our critics: we have done all of this in 18-months, despite significant external obstacles imposed on the Blue Devil Block II program that were wholly outside the control of Mav6 and our subcontractors and vendors. All things being equal, I am pretty damn proud of what the M1400 team has been able to accomplish.
Following are some of my favorite pics of the M1400 development effort to date:

That’s not a moon…



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