21st Century Airships was founded by Hokan Colting in the mid 1990's.
Mr. Colting was the founder of Colting Balloons which later merged with
Thunder Balloons to form the legendary Thunder & Colt. After relocating to
Canada in the 1980's he began the development of a sperical airship. Forward
motion and control are achieved by deflecting the twin engines' thrust with
deflector vanes. The pilot and passengers are located inside the spherical
envelope and enjoy a good view through panoramic windows.
Two manned prototypes are currently flying. The SPAS-4 demonstrator
(C-FRLM) has a volume of 41,500 cu.ft. (1,180 cu.m.).
It is a 43' (13.1 m.) diameter sphere and seats the pilot and one
passenger. The SPAS-4 airship is powered by two 50 hp. engines.
The newest 21st Century airship is a pre-production model used for type
certification. It is of the SPAS-70 type and registred C-FYOK.
It has a volume of 91,000 cu.ft. (2,595 cu.m.). This ship is a 56' (17.05 m.)
diameter sphere which seats the pilot and 3 passengers. This airship is
powered by four 100 hp. engines. The first test flight with SPAS-70
was made on August 8, 1997.
The SPAS-4 spherical airship demonstrator in flight.
For more detailed and up-to-date information, please visit the
21st Century Airships website
or
contact 21st Century
Airships directly.