Airlander 10: World's longest aircraft moves to new base

The world's longest aircraft, which collapsed at its base last year, has been moved by lorry to a new home.

Airlander 10 - a combination of plane and airship - was taken from Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire to a new production facility.

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), the company behind the £25m craft, has not revealed where the new home is, but said it was in "the Bedford area".

It said the move started this week and had gone "very well".

"Some of you may have seen the Mission Module and propulsors in transit," the company said.

"While all of us here at HAV are sad to be leaving the [Cardington] Sheds, we are also excited about this next chapter in Airlander's story.

"We will have more information about the new facility for you soon and some other exciting updates to share over the coming months."

The moving craft was filmed by Helen Whelan on the A421 near Bedford, where it was transported in parts on various lorries.

She said: "I think that it is a such a huge shame that the Airlander is leaving Cardington as we really enjoyed watching it during its initial flights last year. Hopefully it is not moving too far."

HAV announced last September it would move the craft to a new base to "allow us to be sure that we have the facilities we need for the future".

A fully-inflated Airlander 10 measures 302ft (95m) long and has completed six successful test flights so far - but its story has not been plain sailing.

In August 2016 it nosedived during landing for a test flight, causing damage to the cockpit.

It then deflated in November after a safety feature was triggered when it came loose from its mooring.

HAV says the craft could one day be used for functions including surveillance, communications, delivering aid and even passenger travel.