GlobeTel unveiled Sanswire One, its high-altitude airship prototype by its subsidiary Sanswire. CEO Timothy M. Huff described a paradigm shift in the telecommunications industry." Mr. Huff praised the work of the Sanswire engineering team, headed by Bob Jones. Mr. Huff stated, "We are extremely pleased with the progress made by Bob and the rest of the Sanswire team. The team represents over 150 years of experience and they truly are a world class team of experts."
Mr. Jones stated that the team has made substantial and significant improvements to the Airship design. After detailed aerodynamic and structural analysis, the team lengthened Sanswire One's frame to 188 feet from the original design of 90 feet. Eventually, the commercial airships, which were originally designed to be 245 feet, will range from 450 feet to 800 feet depending on payload requirements. Mr. Jones continued, "In three weeks, we corrected the original design and built almost 100 additional feet of the space frame. We also moved from a Dacron covering to a space age Tedlar covering, developed a ground station communications package, and made advances in composite materials and in method of lifting gases."
According to Mr. Jones, the FAA has directed Sanswire to conduct the flight test at the Edwards Test Range and that the Company is closely working for concession for the Airship to transition from FAA controlled airspace at Palmdale to Edwards 2508 restricted airspace. This will enable Sanswire to further test the Airship.
Sanswire plans to do tethered test outside of the hanger at its current location to validate the structural integrity and to collect needed data. After the test, the airship will be transported to the Palmdale secured hangar next to Edwards. These tests will in no way delay the process already underway to clear the airship for flight on the test range at Edwards.
Mr. Jones also commented that clearance of many FAA and governmental processes are necessary to enable Sanswire One to safely fly at the Air Force Flight Test Center and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Currently, the FAA is working on a process to allow unmanned aerial vehicles, such as Sanswire One, to safely operate in the national air space. Also, the Air Force and NASA has their own flight test and safety approval processes that must be accomplished. These processes require additional time and resources to satisfy the governmental agencies. All new aerospace vehicles must go through these processes.
Mr. Huff also stated that "Sanswire is very proud to have built a strong team of renowned aerospace professionals who are using their broad backgrounds and technical skills to design and construct the world's first high altitude rigid Airship. Our team and this overall project are paving the future of communications.
GlobeTel is an industry authority on a range of unique and innovative product, service and technology offerings.
Sanswire is a pioneer in the delivery of high-speed wireless Internet access.