Sergey Brin’s giant airship will be world’s largest, serve humanitarian role

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is building a massive airship, we learned in April, and now The Guardian reports some additional details about the purpose and nature of the project. It’ll be used both as a private luxury air yacht for Brin and his retinue, as well as for humanitarian aid purposes. Also, it’ll be the largest aircraft in the world, at nearly 200 meters (656 feet) in length. Go big or go biggest.

While it would be the biggest active aircraft, it would still be smaller than either the Hindenburg or USS Macon airships from history – the latter of which occupied the same hangar where Brin is currently building his new aerial masterpiece. Its construction is being funded entirely with his own money (of which he as plenty), and once completed, it’ll be used to ferry supplies including food on humanitarian missions around the world, as well as for personal intercontinental travel.

Brin’s longtime personal fascination with zeppelins and airships helped fuel his interest in building his own, and he enlisted the help of various experts in the field, including former NASA programs director Alan Weston. While Brin originally hoped to use hydrogen (yes, Hindenburg-style hydrogen) to lift the craft, it’s currently being developed to employ helium, in accordance with FAA regulations.

No word yet on when Brin’s airborne conveyance will actually take to the skies, but it’ll be hard to miss when it does, given the scope and scale of the project. Many of us probably remember gawking at the ocean-going yachts of Silicon Valley’s brightest stars from the first big tech boom – maybe airships will be the luxe transportation item de rigueur for the next generation.