The Au-30 airship is designed for long-duration flights, including at low altitude and low speed. The main applications of the Au-30 are all types of patrols, special monitoring of overhead power lines and pipelines, photo and video shooting, rescue operations, as well as elite tourism.
The Au-30 airship has been designed on the basis of previous development efforts and the latest achievements in airship engineering. Its design incorporates the basic concepts of today’s airship engineering – vertical and short-run takeoff and landing capability, no helium consumption flight, thrust vectoring in the vertical plane and the application of advanced materials and onboard equipment. The envelope is made of a modern fabric-film material. The fore and aft ballonets are used to maintain positive pressure in the envelope and static balancing of the vehicle. The cruciform tail configuration, located in the aft of the airship hull, was selected for the Au-30 airship.
A nacelle is attached to the envelope using a rigid supernacelle extension and a system of internal catenary rings. The nacelle is a load-bearing structure consisting of four functional modules: cockpit, cargo/passenger cabin, utility module, and service and technical compartment. Power units are mounted externally on the left and right sides of the nacelle and a self-orienting landing gear leg is fastened to its underside.
The cockpit is at the front of the nacelle, is designed for a two-man crew and provides excellent view. Electronic and electrical equipment units are mainly located under the cabin floor and can be accessed both from outside through outer hatches and from the cabin through hatches in the floor. Behind the cockpit there is a cargo/passenger cabin, which has a constant cross-section and a flat floor which provides ample opportunities for accommodation of passengers, cargo or special equipment. On the port side of the nacelle is a wide door, whose bottom flap in the open position serves as a ladder. A food preparation block is located on the starboard side and a hygienic unit with toilet and wash basin is in the aft on the port side. The technical compartment of the nacelle accommodates fuel and oil tanks of the powerplant, ballast tanks and air and gas system components.
