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Immigrant Airship Maker Sets Sights
Skyward
Los Angeles,
December 28, 2005
By Mike O'Sullivan
Ukrainian immigrant Igor Pasternak came to the United States with a dream,
to revolutionize the aircraft industry. Mr. Pasternak's Los Angeles
company, called Worldwide Aeros Corporation, manufacturers blimps, and the
airship maker says lighter-than-air technology may play an important role
in the industry's future.
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| Airship blimp
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From the age of five, Igor Pasternak has
been fascinated with airships, such as helium-filled blimps.
He started his airship company in
the former Soviet Union, and 12 years ago, relocated from Moscow to the
United States.
"We kind of realized to make this dream a reality, it
was impossible in the Soviet Union," he said. "And that was the biggest
motivation. And we packed our bags with books, with some work that we had
done, and basically jumped on an aircraft."
He ended up in California, where his company now
manufacturers blimps.
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| Airship
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They are used for advertising and
surveillance, and are high-tech flying machines.
"We reduced pilot load. Our pilots, right now, when
they're flying our blimps, they're just reading the newspaper," he noted.
Mr. Pasternak's airships are now flying in many parts of
the world, but he dreams of creating a new type of aircraft, which
combines elements of helium airships with other elements from conventional
airplanes. The new craft will be used for carrying cargo.
"It's not the blimp, it's not the airship. It's an
absolutely new airborne vehicle," he said.
He says helium will provide lift, but the craft is not
an airship. It will be heavier than air, and powered like an airplane.
That will make it more stable than blimps.
The ship is being designed to carry hundreds of tons of
cargo for thousands of kilometers. Worldwide Aeros vice president Fred
Edworthy says the new technology will fill a need in the shipping
business.
"Lightweight composites that have gained a lot of
prominence in the aircraft industry in the last few years will certainly
help us make this a reality," he said. "As well, other forms of transport
have been less expensive, rising fuel costs, and certainly volumes of
cargo moving between continents has certainly brought it to the forefront
in recent years."
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| Proposed
military airship |
Worldwide Aeros was selected for a
Pentagon competition to create a massive aircraft to carry 500 tons of
cargo for distances of 18,000 kilometers. The design, being created with a
Defense Department award of more than $3 million, is based on the
company's concept of a hybrid cargo airship. Aeros is competing with
Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in the first phase of the military
project.
Mr. Pasternak faced skepticism when he
arrived in the United States, speaking no English. But he quickly learned
the language, and five years ago received U.S. certification for an
original blimp design. He faces a bigger challenge in the race for a
next-generation airship, which could potentially carry farm products and
factory goods, or military cargo, from the United States to other parts of
the world.
About
Worldwide Aeros Corp:
Worldwide Aeros Corp. is
the world's leading lighter-than-air, FAA-certified aircraft manufacturing
company. The company's operations involve the research, development, and
marketing of a complete family of Aeros-branded air vehicles used in
military and civilian applications. These include
rigid aeroscrafts, commercial
non-rigid airships, and advanced tethered
aerostatic systems.
The Aeros airships serve both government agencies
and private corporations and are available for a wide variety of platform
missions including advertising, touring, surveillance and broadcasting.
Worldwide Aeros Corp. has a presence across three continents and has
affiliates in eight European and Asian countries. The company's
industry-leading expertise is based on more than 20 years of operations
and advanced research in lighter-than-air technologies. Please visit us at
www.aerosml.com for more information and news about Worldwide Aeros
Corp.
Contact:
Edward
Pevzner
Business Development Manager
Tel. 818 344-3999 x 106
Edward@AerosML.com
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