* The aircraft weighs about 22,050 lbs (10,000kg) when fully inflated <\/p>\n
* The craft is capable of reaching speeds of 100mph <\/p>\n
* The ship will eventually be capable of carrying 50 tonnes at a time, around 50 times more than a helicopter can carry. <\/p>\n
* The vehicle is full of inert helium rather than hydrogen, as used the in the R101 hybrid airship. <\/p>\n
* No runway is required for the craft to take off, and just a crew of two is needed. <\/p>\n
* The aircraft was first developed for the American government as a surveillance craft but was affected by cutbacks to the defence budget. <\/p>\n
* It was shipped to the UK in 15 containers, which took four days to unload. <\/p>\n
The HAV304 arriving at Cardington <\/p>\n
* It is being stored at the largest hangar in the world, at Cardington. This is 812ft (248m) long, 157ft (48m) high and 180ft (55m) wide. <\/p>\n
* The craft has been designed to be heavier than air, so that it doesn't need people to hold ropes to land it <\/p>\n
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World's largest aircraft<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" * The aircraft weighs about 22,050 lbs (10,000kg) when fully inflated * The craft is capable of reaching speeds of 100mph * The ship will eventually be capable of carrying 50 tonnes at a time, around 50 times more than a helicopter can carry. * The vehicle is full of inert helium rather than hydrogen, as used the in the R101 hybrid airship. * No runway is required for the craft to take off, and just a crew of two is needed. Continue reading