Roger Munk may have died in February, but his first paying customer finally came through yesterday.
The US Army signed a $517 million contract to buy at least three hybrid airships yesterday from Northrop Grumman, which had partnered with Hybrid Air Vehicles -- the last in a long line of airship ventures launched by Munk.
Munk, a naval architect turned airship designer, spent the last three decades trying to make the dirigible a commercial reality. Whether it was the short-lived Sentinel 1000 sponsored by the US Navy or the aborted SkyCat launched by Advanced Technologies Group, Munk's name and ideas were the driving force.
It wasn't until the last few years that market demand and Munk's design ideas appeared to merge.
First, Munk conceived of an improved airship design that combined the bouyancy of the lighter-than-air airship, the aerodynamics of a rigid aircraft and the easy ground handling of a hovercraft with an air-cushioned landing system.
Then, the US Army suddenly became unlikely airship aficionados, launching the LEMV program as a trailblazer for a series of potential future applications, such as manned cargo hybrid airships lifting 20,000 tons for up to 1,000 miles.
It was never that easy for Munk, even to the last. Although his Hybrid Air Vehicles company had partnered with Northrop, the team faced strong opposition from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division, which had demonstrated the similarly-designed P791 hybrid airship in 2006.
Speaking to reporters today, Gordon Taylor, director of sales and marketing for Hybrid Air Vehicles, acknowledged the bittersweet tone of the moment.
"We're all terribly excited about what happened [yesterday]," Taylor says. "I was speaking with Roger's wife -- widow -- Annie today. ... We're very, very excited. But it is a sad loss. Roger was a great friend. Even the Northrop Grumman people have been very respectful. They got to know the man well enough to realize what we've got our hands on."
The US Army signed a $517 million contract to buy at least three hybrid airships yesterday from Northrop Grumman, which had partnered with Hybrid Air Vehicles -- the last in a long line of airship ventures launched by Munk.
Munk, a naval architect turned airship designer, spent the last three decades trying to make the dirigible a commercial reality. Whether it was the short-lived Sentinel 1000 sponsored by the US Navy or the aborted SkyCat launched by Advanced Technologies Group, Munk's name and ideas were the driving force.
It wasn't until the last few years that market demand and Munk's design ideas appeared to merge.
First, Munk conceived of an improved airship design that combined the bouyancy of the lighter-than-air airship, the aerodynamics of a rigid aircraft and the easy ground handling of a hovercraft with an air-cushioned landing system.
Then, the US Army suddenly became unlikely airship aficionados, launching the LEMV program as a trailblazer for a series of potential future applications, such as manned cargo hybrid airships lifting 20,000 tons for up to 1,000 miles.
It was never that easy for Munk, even to the last. Although his Hybrid Air Vehicles company had partnered with Northrop, the team faced strong opposition from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division, which had demonstrated the similarly-designed P791 hybrid airship in 2006.
Speaking to reporters today, Gordon Taylor, director of sales and marketing for Hybrid Air Vehicles, acknowledged the bittersweet tone of the moment.
"We're all terribly excited about what happened [yesterday]," Taylor says. "I was speaking with Roger's wife -- widow -- Annie today. ... We're very, very excited. But it is a sad loss. Roger was a great friend. Even the Northrop Grumman people have been very respectful. They got to know the man well enough to realize what we've got our hands on."
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