For people not members of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) but interested in airships, the February 2026 edition of their monthly magazine Aerospace provides an article about them by Mark Piesing on pages 30 to 34 with an illustration on the front cover, as shown here.
It has been said that this “is very unusual for the RAeS to run such an article” from few members being involved in them but is indicative of the change of heart that came with the setting up of a new Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) Working Group (WG) in partnership with the Airship Association. The inaugural meeting was held 19 January 2026, chaired by Patrick Lane-Nott, when Michael Uchenna Onebunne, as part of the Leadership team by the RAeS Specialist Groups Executive, was appointed Secretary.
Of interest in Mark’s article are several mentions about Government support needed for this aircraft sector, where it’s evident that the UK currently has no airships in service. However, his article highlights the growing extent of international interest in them since the turn of the Century as largely sustainable types regarding the environment, both in flight and at ground level, for least harm operations needed to mitigate climate warming.
Luffships is an active supporter of the WG, helping this aircraft sector generally. This includes balloons/aerostats, airships and semi-buoyant types at all levels (the latter also needing aerodynamic lift to fly). We believe that the way for airships to take their place in the aviation industry is a return to the basics at small scale that then grows naturally instead of repeating history with mammoth undertakings, as some are doing.
While airships at large sizes struggle to get certified for service entry, small remotely controlled airships (buoyant drones) are a good way for new enterprises to begin and learn from in much easier, quicker ways to put into services, needing less proof of compliance with the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulations. Mark also published a previous article 18 Dec 2025 titled The New Age of Tiny Airships explaining their benefits and abilities.
Such projects are a way for universities to also become involved with, enabling affordable research projects to solve traditional issues. Let’s encourage the new RAeS LTA WG to think laterally about new possibilities to develop without the harm that the many non-buoyant types cause from excess use of power to become and remain airborne.
After all, in this high-tech age where people make things fly in ways that ordinarily can’t without continuous power and complex systems, why wouldn’t one use the benefit of buoyancy from the atmosphere to fly simply & safely, even when power fails? Read what Sir George Cayley said regarding aerial navigation in our website’s About section.
Airships in free flight basically have very long endurance and range capability beyond that of other aircraft together with capacity for outsized payloads point-to-point, depending on design. They simply can be designed to use vertical launch/capture methods routinely, then able to serve any site on the Earth’s surface without runways. They also can be designed to do this sustainably and provide jobs for aircraft people after necessary training in the different technology as current aircraft that don’t meet sustainability requirements are phased out.
Even so, most UK universities don’t have staff or courses to fully cover airship technology. However, with government and the new RAeS LTA WG’s support, these issues can be addressed and solved.
It’s a way to enable affordable air services worldwide, particularly for remote regions! Imagine the benefit that suitable airships would enable to air-lift near anything anywhere around the world. Also to provide continuous aerial watch-over with loiter ability for weeks or months before returning to base. These are possibilities that suitable airships could provide!
