A Safari Balloon With Motors
GO ANYWHERE. SEE EVERYTHING.
MISSION
Our mission is to provide Iconic Natural Areas (INAs) with an electric air transport system able to access any location, immerse with nature and operate with zero carbon emissions.
BELIEFS
​"They’re not making more Nature.” Nature is changing faster now than at any time in the last 10,000 years. We believe an air transport system can not only bring people to see Nature, but it can connect local brainpower living in Iconic Natural Areas with the world’s brainpower to identify threats, save lives and create sustainable livelihoods.
EXPERIENCE
Since 2006 Solar Ship has been a pioneer in the electric aerospace industry with a focus on developing technologies uniquely suited to remote Nature. Solar Ship has developed more solar powered airships than all other companies in the world combined.
TECHNOLOGY
Electric aircraft aren't just better for the environment, they are better, period. Distributed electric motors give our aircraft control and responsiveness that would have previously been impossible. That control allows us to go where the best sights are unlike a hot-air balloon, and provides a smooth, serene experience with a view you could never get in a helicopter.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Learn about iconic nature from the people who have generational expertise and have lived there their entire lives.
OUR SAFARI AIRCRAFT
Airships are aircraft filled with buoyant (lighter-than-air) gas allowing them to fly without needing wings or helicopter rotors to generate lift. For more than 15 years, Solar Ship has been designing and building modern all-electric airships using the latest technology and advancements.
Ship's spherical airships combine the inherent safety, stability, and efficiency of an airship with the responsiveness and control of a multicopter. With a ride like a cloud, a spacious gondola with a great view, and electric motors to propel the aircraft independently in each direction, Solar Ship's spherical airships are tailored to provide the perfect airborne safari experience.
KIBOKO
Our 20 meter safari airship designed to carry passengers in comfort and offer an unparalleled view.
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TEMBO
Our next generation heavy lift airship platform. It can do tough jobs no other aircraft can, or provide a week-long luxury safari aloft, like nothing in history.
SAFETY
CULTURE
Solar Ship’s safety procedures are embedded in a culture of improvement. All components and operating procedures have been established through years of testing and evaluation. After every flight, flight team and crew debrief on what they observed and how to improve safety. This ritual continually seeks to improve everything about the operation.
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DESIGN
Airships are older than bicycles or cars – the design for safety has been advancing for over a century. The design of each Solar Ship aircraft has evolved over 12 years of flying to optimize stability and control. Traditional airships are designed with a cigar shape to reduce drag, but they are complicated and fragile and require extensive ground handling. Solar Ship’s spherical airships are designed to maximize stability and control. They take off and land vertically with multiple propellers for redundancy that can steer the airship in any direction.
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MANUFACTURING
All components of the aircraft are aerospace grade, designed with large factors of safety. The simplicity of the design means the manufacturing process is simple and enables attention to detail. We use rugged and reliable welded steel construction for the gondola that accommodates the passengers, pilot and crew. The fabric envelope uses proven high-tech textiles developed specifically for airships over 50 years.
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TRAINING
Solar Ship’s Flight Club offers training programs for all aspects of the operation from design to manufacturing to piloting, maintenance, repair and overhaul and for flight crew and ground crew. All team members are trained in all aspects of the operation including health and safety procedures, first aid, and communications with emergency services. Solar Ship develops airship services for emergency response, and training programs for life-saving services.
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OPERATIONS
Standard Operating Procedures have been established over years of Test and Evaluation. The flight starts with the airships secured to the ground in a landing brace like an egg in a cup - it is heavy, cannot move and does not release the airship until the pilot and crew confirm. Passengers embark on a walkway with high grip flooring and railings, single file. Inside the airship, there are seats, seat belts and hand rails. Flight operations have a flight plan in ideal conditions for cruising with low winds, clear skies and predictable weather. Each flight plan has a halfway point where weather conditions are confirmed, or the flight returns home until ideal weather returns. Upon arrival, the airship is parked in its landing brace with the walkway for disembarkation. If there are any concerns or issues in flight, the aircraft has vents in the envelope to let out the lifting gas and disposable water ballast to reduce weight, ensuring that the airship can always float to the ground softly as a balloon, and gas can be vented to keep the airship safely on the ground.