Media

May 2021 Updates & Projects

In May, RAD-AID delivered IV contrast CT training for radiology and nursing staff, residents and faculty in Guyana. Shipped and implemented over 50 medical-grade imaging monitors donated to Africa and South America, and expanded its RAD-AID USA Women's Health outreach sites to increase breast and cervical health navigation and health care access for women of color.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has awarded Dr Ryan England from RAD-AID the recipient of “The Riva and Albert B. Shackman, M.D., F.A.C.R. Research Award” for his research called “To New Heights: Interventional Radiology Outreach to Underserved Regions via Aircraft Delivery Mobile Health Units”.

The research conducted by Dr Ryan England supports the collaboration between RAD-AID and Straightline Aviation. This collaboration consists of using hybrid airships to deliver mobile health units to underserved regions enabling access to medical imaging and radiology in regions, which previously would not have had access to them.

Sir Richard Branson’s video statement

Please click on the image above to view the statement.

University honour for aviation pioneer and entrepreneur

A local business entrepreneur has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Wolverhampton for his contribution to the aviation industry.

Michael Kendrick, from Bridgnorth, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Technology in recognition of his pioneering work on the technology of ballooning, which took the method of aviation to new parts of the world.

He was also recognised for his revolutionary approach to business and marketing.

Michael’s roots are in marketing and public relations, which is where he discovered the power of aerial advertising.

Financial Times: Airship makers unveil lofty ambitions for market

The attraction of airships to businesses is their ability to transport heavy goods and equipment to remote locations Mr Kendrick argues. Oil and mining groups operating in places where there are no roads or airstrips are among the potential customers.

The Times: Back to the future for fleet of airships

A new generation of high-tech airships capable of delivering passengers and cargo to the most hostile parts of the globe will be operated by a British company (Graeme Paton writes).

Straightline Aviation will become the first in the world to purchase and run a fleet of hybrid airships built by Lockheed Martin, the American aviation group.

A new age of airships is ready for take off

My favourite Indiana Jones scene sees our hero make his escape from Nazi Germany on a giant airship. Dressed as a ticket inspector, he knocks out a pursuer. With a shrug of his shoulders he explains to the alarmed passengers: “No ticket.”

In the modern era, whenever airships have been discussed and their applications evaluated, there has been no easy ticket to commercial viability. They have been  seen as a romantic method of transport that the 21st Century has left far behind.   

‘No roads, no problem’: How blimps could help northern Quebec’s miners overcome their infrastructure woes

Montreal-based mining company Quest plans to use a fleet of seven Lockheed airships to transport supplies and personnel to its mine on the Quebec-Labrador border

Who needs roads or railways when you have blimps?

A small Montreal-based mining exploration company called Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. thinks it may have found a solution to the lack of transportation infrastructure in Canada’s North: a blimp-like hybrid airship made by Lockheed Martin Corp. that can land virtually anywhere for a fraction of the cost of a regular airplane.

Airship company set to go up, up and away

A new generation of high-tech airships capable of delivering passengers and cargo to the most hostile parts of the globe will be operated by a British company.

Straightline Aviation will become the first in the world to purchase and run a fleet of hybrid airships built by Lockheed Martin, the American aviation group.

British firm will buy first 12 of Lockheed's new blimp-like hybrid airships

British aviation company will be the first customer for Lockheed Martin's blimp-like hybrid airships.

Straightline Aviation, which was established last year solely to own and operate the airships, said it has signed a letter of intent to purchase 12 of the dirigibles for about $480 million.

Nearly 80 Years After the Hindenburg Disaster, Airships Are Poised for a Comeback

Companies see hybrid blimps as possible mode for transporting cargo, as well as tourism opportunities.

More than a century after the first Zeppelins took to the sky, airship makers including Lockheed Martin Corp. say fresh commercial interest is reviving the fortunes of the giant flying machines.

Branson's balloonist signs airship deal.

Branson's balloonist signs airship deal. For decades airships have served little commercial purpose beyond that of a floating billboard, but a band of former Virgin Group executives is about to bet $480m that the modern descendants of the ill-fated Hindenburg will enjoy a bigger future: in energy-efficient air cargo.

Airships in the Arctic

DIRIGIBLES ARE BEING FLOATED AS THE FUTURE MULES OF THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

EACH year around this time Craig and Cathy Welsh list all the food, drink, clothing and furniture they need for the next year. They then fly 2,000 km (1,250 miles) south to Ottawa from their home in Iqaluit, buy the non-perishables and put them on a ship that will call once the sea ice melts around July. Estimating quantities can be tricky: one bulk toothpaste purchase lasted more than eight years.

From Wolverhampton council estate to 'Living Legend': Balloon pioneer honoured

He pioneered the use of hot-air balloons as an advertising tool and masterminded Sir Richard Branson’s various world-record attempts in a flying basket.

Now Mike Kendrick’s contribution to the industry has been recognised with his induction into the Living Legends of Aviation organisation – joining the likes of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and film star pilot John Travolta.

Look Who’s Talking to Star John

Mike Kendrick, CEO of Bridgnorth based Straightline Aviation, has mixed with Hollywood stars at an aviation awards.

He attended the star-studded Living Legends of Aviation ceremony to present Bertrand Piccard - the Swiss aviator and world record breaker - with the Legends Technology Award.

Shropshire Business Welcomed to Georgia by Prime Minister

Shropshire businessmen Mike Kendrick and Mark Dorey, Directors of Straightline Aviation flew out to Tbilisi to meet the Prime Minister of Georgia, His Excellency Mamuka Bakhtadze to discuss their Hybrid airship business and potential funding and development in Georgia.

Airship plan sends stock soaring

The top spot went to Canadian-listed Eco Oro Minerals Corp, which shot up a huge 52.43% on no news in the past week.

Eco Oro is hoping to resolve a dispute with the Colombian National Mining Agency, which in August deprived the company of its mining rights over more than half of the concession area at its multi-million ounce Angostura gold-silver project.

Alaska Business - A New Tool in the Toolbox

PRL Logistics, a Pacific-Rim based logistics company, announced August 30 a partnership with UK-based Straightline Aviation to bring one of the world’s first heavy-lift hybrid airships, the LMH-1, to Alaska in 2019. The airship is referred to as a hybrid because it combines the abilities of a heavy lift airplane, a helicopter, and a hovercraft. The airships have been developed and will be built by Lockheed Martin. In total, the order is for twelve airships, the first of which will come to Alaska, says PRL Logistics CEO Ron Hyde.

Canadian rare earths mine to transport ore using airships

With easily-reachable deposits being depleted, mining and exploration is pushing further and further into frontier markets and remote locations. Building a mine where no infrastructure exists is a daunting challenge, and one that has crushed the hopes of many a mine developer. But what if a mine could be built and run without roads?

Such was the thinking among executives at Quest Rare Minerals Ltd., the company developing the Strange Lake rare earths mine in Northern Québec, Canada

STRAIGHTLINE AVIATION TO BRING HYBRID AIRSHIPS TO QUEST RARE MINERALS MINE SITE IN NORTHERN QUÉBEC

Straightline Aviation and Quest Rare Minerals sign MOU at Canadian Aerospace Summit to bring eco-efficient solution to Canada's remote transportation challenges  

Straightline Aviation (SLA) announced an agreement with Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (TSX:QRM) to provide dedicated air services for the transport of ore concentrate, supplies and personnel using Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Airships. The airships will provide shuttle transportation between Quest's Strange Lake complex mine site in Northern Québec and Schefferville, a town with a direct rail link to the Port of Sept-Iles.

Straightline Aviation Examines Humanitarian Role For Airship

LONDON—UK-based Straightline Aviation, the launch customer for Lockheed Martin’s LMH-1 hybrid airship, is investigating the potential of delivering health services from the aircraft. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with RAD-AID International, a non-profit organization providing radiology health services. 

N.W.T. cabinet committee hears airship pitch from Lockheed Martin

New helium-filled aircraft can land in rough remote terrain.

Airships were on the agenda at a Northwest Territories cabinet committee meeting in Hay River on Thursday. 

The helium-filled aircraft are being floated as a solution to logistical problems in the North, where a huge landmass makes for expensive limitations to development.

It's not the first time the idea of using airships in the North has been explored. In 2013, a House of Commons committee suggested examining airships as a way to reach remote communities.

Straightline in Alaskan airship deal

An aviation company based near Wolverhampton is part of a deal to take next generation hybrid airships to Alaska, to enable work on hard-to-reach sites.

The deal has been welcomed by Alaskan political leaders and will see the world's first heavy-lift hybrid airship – Lockheed Martin's LMH-1 – working in America's largest and least populated state from 2019.

Straightline Aviation, based at Wolverhampton Business Airport at Bobbington, is buying a dozen airships from Lockheed which it will then lease to companies around the world.

Anchorage company brings helium-filled airship to Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska An Anchorage-based logistics company says it will soon have a new tool for delivering people and equipment to remote sections of Alaska.

PRL Logistics and its partner Straightline Aviation are bringing a helium-filled Airship to Alaska.

The $40-million Airship is being built by Lockheed Martin. PRL Logistics Vice President Kathleen O'Connell says the first off the assembly line will come to Alaska sometime in 2018.

PRL Logistics, Straightline Aviation to bring hybrid airships to Alaska

Remote site logistics company and UK-based agent for Lockheed Martin’s LMH-1 hybrid airship announce partnership.

Anchorage, Alaska – Hybrid Enterprises, the exclusive worldwide reseller of Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Airships, is forming a strategic partnership between PRL Logistics Inc., a remote site logistics company, and UK-based Hybrid Airship owner and operator, Straightline Aviation. This partnership will introduce the heavy-lift Hybrid Airship – the LMH-1.

Heavy-Lift Hybrid Airships Coming to Alaska

Hybrid Enterprises, the exclusive worldwide reseller of Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Airships, has announced a strategic partnership between PRL Logistics Inc. and UK-based Hybrid Airship owner and operator, Straightline Aviation.

This partnership will introduce the world's first heavy-lift Hybrid Airship – the LMH-1.

Developed and built by Lockheed Martin, the LMH-1 is designed to land on virtually any surface including snow, ice, gravel and even water. According to Hybrid Enterprises, these football-field-sized airships will provide low-cost and environmentally friendly solutions for moving freight and personnel to the most isolated regions of Alaska and Northern Canada.

Giant airships to start operating in Alaska by 2019

Huge airships the size of football fields are expected to start transporting freight and human passengers in Alaska and Northern Canada by 2019.

The airships, developed by Lockheed Martin’s subsidiary Hybrid Airships, combine the features of an airship, helicopter, an aeroplane and a hovercraft. Capable of lifting up to 22 tons of cargo plus a crew of 18, the vessels will be employed by Alaskan logistics company PRL Logistics, which has signed an agreement with the ship’s exclusive reseller Hybrid Enterprises and UK-based operator Straightline Aviation.

First Hybrid Airships head to Canada

Developed and built by Lockheed Martin, the LMH-1 has the ability to land on virtually any surface including snow, ice, gravel and even water. According to the companies, these football field-sized airships will provide low-cost and environmentally friendly solutions for moving freight and personnel to the most isolated regions of Alaska and Northern Canada.

Rob Weiss, executive vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs (Skunk Works) said: “Alaska is an ideal location for the Hybrid Airship to operate. The airship enables access to Alaska’s most isolated regions, and is designed to protect the sensitive ecological environment.”

Partnership to bring Lockheed Martin ‘game-changing’ hybrid airships to Alaska

UK-based Hybrid Airship owner and operator Straightline Aviation is embarking upon a strategic partnership with PRL Logistics Inc., a leader in remote site logistics, which will see the first helium-buoyed hybrid airships introduced in Alaska.

The new partnership will introduce the world’s first heavy-lift Hybrid Airships – the LMH-1 developed and built by Lockheed Martin.

Hybrid Airships combine the technology of lighter than air aircraft with airplanes, helicopters and hovercraft. Helium provides 80% of the lift, and the remaining lift comes from the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft and its four thrust vectoring engines.

Hybrid airship operator forms alliance with Alaska logistics firm

A UK-based hybrid airship operator has teamed up with an Arctic logistics specialist to start operating the 85m (280ft)-long Lockheed Martin LMH-1 in 2019 to remote sites in Alaska and northern Canada.

The announced alliance between PRL Logistics and Straightline Aviation comes five months after the latter signed a letter of intent to acquire 12 LMH-1s from Hybrid Enterprises, the Atlanta-based reseller of hybrid airships made by Lockheed’s Skunk Works division.

N.W.T. cabinet committee hears airship pitch from Lockheed Martin

New helium-filled aircraft can land in rough remote terrain.

Airships were on the agenda at a Northwest Territories cabinet committee meeting in Hay River on Thursday. 

The helium-filled aircraft are being floated as a solution to logistical problems in the North, where a huge landmass makes for expensive limitations to development.

Lockheed Hybrid Airships are coming to Alaska

PRL Logistics Inc., a leader in remote site logistics, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with UK-based Hybrid Airship owner and operator, Straightline Aviation. This partnership will introduce the world’s first heavy-lift Hybrid Airships – the LMH-1.

Developed and built by Lockheed Martin, the LMH-1 has the ability to land on virtually any surface including snow, ice, gravel and even water. These football field sized airships will provide low cost and environmentally friendly solutions for moving freight and personnel to the most isolated regions of Alaska and Northern Canada.

Cool Logistics rings the changes

 Following the momentous decision of the British electorate to leave the EU, the global perishable logistics sector will have to readjust itself to the new reality.

“Short-term food price volatility across the board is the most likely outcome. Existing trading relations are likely to become less comfortable,” says Alex von Stempel, Managing Director of Cool Logistics Resources, adding, “Cool Logistics Global will provide a platform to re-assess the changes set to dominate the discussion.”

Tumbling Oil Prices Have Given Birth to Two Massive, Dueling Blimps

Imagine three gigantic wieners.

Lay them side-by-side, to form a rectangle.

Fill them with 1.3 million cubic feet of helium (about 6.5 times what you’d need to fill a Goodyear blimp). Attach some motors, and—voila!—you have the LMH-1, Lockheed Martin’s new hybrid airship–a giant flying air-mattress that the company is building inside its secretive Skunkworks in Palmdale, Calfiornia. It’s the first commercial aircraft the Skunkworks has produced.

New multi million dollar deal may bring airships to the United Kingdom

Straightline Aviation has signed a £330m ($NZ692m) deal with Lockheed Martin for 12 airships and is currently working with Hybrid Enterprises, Lockheed Martin's seller of the airship to finalise the agreement.

Straightline Aviation hopes to receive their fleet by 2018, airlive.net reported.

 Mike Kendrick, the co-founder and CEO of Straightline Aviation said: "We are delighted to be first in line with this magnificent aircraft that is going to dramatically change the way cargo is moved around the world. The clear-cut economic and environmental advantages of these Hybrids are attracting vast amounts of attention from a wide-range of potential end users."

Airships to the Artic?

Bush planes opened up much of Canada to mining, but now there’s talk of a different type of aircraft transforming the industry. On March 30 Lockheed Martin announced a letter of intent in which England-based Straightline Aviation would purchase up to 12 Hybrid Airships, a new contraption that evokes pre-Hindenburg efforts to defy gravity. Straightline would then contract its services to resource companies, among other clients.

Inflation takes off... full of helium

You may recall Richard Branson trying to set ocean-crossing records in a hot air balloon.

Perhaps you recall the Virgin boss dipped in the briny when his balloon crashed off the coast of Ireland 29 years ago.

To some of us - the less intrepid ones - it may have seemed like the hobby of a man with more money than sense. His interest in airships didn't get much beyond some very expensive advert hoardings.

Shropshire business hopes to fly with £330m airship deal

A new business using a new generation of airships into inaccessible areas of the world has revealed its intention to buy 12 of the ships for 480 million dollars (£330m).

Straightline Aviation has been launched by Mike Kendrick and Mark Dorey. It will buy 12 new generation airships.

Straightline Aviation has been launched by Shropshire businessmen Mike Kendrick and Mark Dorey, and will be based at Halfpenny Green Airport near Bridgnorth.

£330m deal to bring futuristic airships to Wolverhampton

A company based on Wolverhampton Business Airport has signed a £330 million deal to become the first to operate a new generation of airships.

Straightline Aviation (SLA) has become the first customer to order a dozen hybrid airships from US aviation giant Lockheed Martin.

SLA, based at offices on the airport, at Bobbington, revealed in March its plans to start operating a fleet of airships by 2018.

U.K.‘s Straightline Aviation orders $480 million in Lockheed’s hybrid airships

Lockheed Martin Corp. has received an order worth $480 million for up to 12 of its hybrid airships, which the company says can deliver cargo and personnel to virtually anywhere -- on water or land.

British company Straightline Aviation signed a letter of intent for the purchase and will work with Hybrid Enterprises, Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Airship reseller, to finalize the purchase agreement.

Giant airships to aid oil, gas and mining industries

The idea of using giant airships to deliver workers and supplies to Alberta's oil sands and northern Canada's mining industries is a step closer to reality today.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin announced on Tuesday it had received a letter-of-intent to sell 12 hybrid airships, valued at $480 million, to Straightline Aviation (SLA), headquartered in the United Kingdom.

TRANSPORTATION: Lockheed Martin’s hybrid airship boon to remote projects

UNITED STATES – Lockheed Martin has signed a letter of intent with UK-based Straightline Aviation for the sale of 12 of its new Hybrid Airships, a deal worth US$480 million. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2018 and continue until 2021.

Straightline plans to charter the airships with crew and maintenance contracts to potential customers in Canada’s north, Alaska, southeast Asia, and the Middle East. 

First fleet of Lockheed Martin airships to be sold to UK company

A British company plans to buy a fleet of innovative airships built by Lockheed Martin to deliver cargo into inaccessible areas for the oil and gas industry.

Straightline Aviation (SLA) has signed a Letter of Intent with the US aerospace manufacture to buy 12 hybrid airships for $480m (£333m), which positions the firm to become the world’s first operator of the innovative cargo freighters.

Letter of intent signed for 12 Lockheed Martin airships

Straightline Aviation (SLA) has signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 12 Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airships with a potential value of approximately $480 million.

SLA is working with Hybrid Enterprises, Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airship reseller, to finalise the purchase agreement.

Lockheed has liftoff: Sells new airships in $480M deal

Lockheed Martin has landed its first contract for the hybrid airship it created inside its top secret Skunk Works division. In a deal valued at $480 million, Straightline Aviation (SLA) has signed a letter of intent to purchase 12 of the heavier-than-air airships that measure nearly a football field long. First delivery is scheduled for 2018, with the final airship expected no later than 2021.

Lockheed Lands Airship Deal as Oil Industry Spurs Blimp Revival

Lockheed Martin Corp. won an order for as many as 12 airships worth $480 million as lower crude receipts spur cost-conscious oil and gas companies to consider aircraft able to carry workers and cargo to remote locations without the need for hefty investment in runways and roads.

Lockheed Martin to sell 12 Hybrid Airships to UK-based firm

Lockheed Martin said it signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to sell 12 of its Hybrid Airships to U.K.-based Straightline Aviation in a deal that could be valued at about $480 million (333 million pounds).

Straightline Aviation, which owns and operates Hybrid Airships, is working with Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Airship reseller, Hybrid Enterprises, to finalise the purchase agreement, the company said in a press release.

Deal on giant airships expected to benefit Alberta oil and mining industries

'People are waiting for this because they need the economies that it brings,' company founder says

The long-held vision of giant airships nearly the length of a Canadian football field delivering workers and supplies to the oilsands and the North's mining sector is a step closer to reality.

U.S.-based Lockheed Martin has announced it has a letter of intent to sell 12 hybrid airships to Straightline Aviation of the United Kingdom.

Straightline Aviation To Buy 12 Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airships For $480

Is this the second golden age of airships?

Lockheed Martin LMT 100% has locked up its first order for as many as a dozen cargo-carrying hybrid airships, blimp-like aircraft that the company’s secretive Skunk Works lab has been developing for more than a decade.

U.K.-based Straightline Aviation (SLA) has agreed to purchase up to 12 of the vehicles for a collective $480 million, enabling the buyer to deliver cargo to remote locations that lack roads or other infrastructure.

Video from RSNA 2018: Rad-Aid airship could take radiology to the skies

Humanitarian organization Rad-Aid is hard at work on a novel concept -- a flying airship that would bring high-tech healthcare such as medical imaging to areas in need. We talk to Dr. Dan Mollura of Rad-Aid about this novel idea.

AllStreet Report: Straightline Aviation

This report was produced for the Social Stock Exchange Annual Research Book 2016. It delivers an independent take on the Environmental, Social, Governance, as well as Economic performance of Straightline Aviation Ltd (“Straightline Aviation”).

Aviation Week : Lockheed Martin Readies LMH-1 Hybrid Airship Assembly

Lockheed Martin’s two-decade-long dream of developing a commercial hybrid airship is about to take off, literally, with initial parts for a prototype arriving over the next two months and first flight targeted for mid-2017.

The 280-ft.-long LMH-1 is expected to enter service in 2018 and is a big move for the company in more ways than one.

Straightline Aviation Selected to Present at CleanEquity Monaco 2016

Straightline Aviation has been identified by an expert panel as one of the world's most innovative cleantech companies and has been selected to present to senior financial and strategic cleantech investors, policy makers, legislators, end users and media.