( CNN ) Look to the skies above London and you 'll see the usual suspects -- rainclouds , planes and pigeons . But by the end of the year , you might just see something else . Longer than a soccer pitch and filled to the brim with helium , at 302 feet long , the Airlander 10 will be the world 's biggest aircraft . Part blimp , part plane , part helicopter , it was originally created by British design company Hybrid Air Vehicles ( HAV ) for military surveillance by the U.S. Army . But budget cuts doomed the project and HAV bought the airship back across the pond , where it seemed set to remain on solid ground until the company received a £3.4 million ( $ 5.1 million ) grant from the UK government . Thanks to this recent injection of financing , designers and engineers are now readying the craft for first flight tests scheduled for later this year . While the concept has been around for nearly a century , airships fell out of fashion following the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 , when the German passenger craft erupted into flames while trying to dock , killing 36 . While an airship might seem like a craft from a time long passed , it has been given a 21st century design overhaul and HAV hopes to have airships back in the skies over the UK by 2016 . Chris Daniels , HAV head of partnerships and communications , said : `` The sole problems existing old-style airships had ( were ) having lots of ground crew , limited ability to carry payloads and to be susceptible to weather conditions . We solved all those problems with a new concept -- a hybrid aircraft . So a mix between a wing and an airship . '' The Airlander 10 -- named because it can carry 10 tons -- is made of a bespoke fabric of carbon fiber , kevlar and mylar , while the pressure of the helium inside maintains the aircraft 's shape . Diesel fuel helps the Airlander take off and land and powers the propellers . The spacious cockpit is currently configured to accommodate a pilot and one observer but Daniels says this can easily be reconfigured to end-user specifications . The airship also has green credentials -- its creators say the current version uses 20 % fuel burn of existing aircraft , can be fitted with solar panels , uses near-silent 325 hp V8 engines and can stay airborne for five days while carrying its maximum payload . The vehicle can also operate in extreme weather conditions ( +54 to -56 degrees Celsius ) . While the previous U.S. Army project had military applications in mind , this time HAV plans to split end use 60:40 between civlian and military applications . Daniels says that they 've had incredible interest from at home and abroad . The U.S. Coastguard has expressed interest in using the hybrid airships to monitor the nation 's coastline . Meanwhile Swedish firm OceanSky , in conjunction with the government , wants to use the Airlander as an air transport system for wind turbines . Daniels explained : `` At the moment , the only way of doing ( transporting the equipment ) is basically plowing a 50m-wide highway through pristine Nordic forest , which is not a good thing to do and they do n't want to destroy ecological environment . '' Showing the versatility in air transport operations the airship could have , Daniels said the charity Oxfam is keen to task the aircraft on aid relief missions following natural disasters , while HAV is in talks with NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena , California , to help conduct scientific research . Using airships for military purposes such as reconnaissance and surveillance is not a new idea and today faces stiff competition from drones . Tim Robinson , editor-in-chief of AEROSPACE Magazine , said : `` The Airlander does have one big benefit over UAVs . It can lift a heavier payload than most drones so allows for radars , better cameras , multiple sensors , etc . Payload weight is one of biggest limiters of UAVs -- so that would be extremely attractive to militaries looking to put larger or heavier sensors on board . It is also manned ( piloted ) which gives it more flexibility in being able to deploy to where it is needed . '' Robinson also highlighted commercial possibilities for the Airlander , such as long-range cargo airships and humanitarian missions . `` The ability of the airship not to need runways or airports would be very attractive for disaster relief . While helicopters can also land anywhere , they are limited in payload and range -- plus the Airlander is much more efficient thanks to its hybrid 'lifting body ' design . '' He added : `` Imagine a large airship being able to land with a medical emergency department on board , right at the scene of the disaster . '' But the aviation expert is also cautiously optimistic about the future of the Airlander . He said there had been several `` false dawns '' in bringing about the return of the airship in previous years , including two military surveillance airship projects from the U.S. Pentagon which were ultimately sidelined `` because they were n't confident in the technology . '' While Robinson calls it `` the most promising lighter-than-air vehicle project we have seen in a long time , '' only successful first flight tests at the end of the year and further demos and trials will show off the Airlander 10 's true capabilities . Until then , keep your eyes fixed to the horizon , where you might just see the future of aviation re-emerge through the clouds . More from Tomorrow Transformed .
The Airlander 10 is a 300-feet long hybrid aircraft . It can carry up to six people and has an impressive range of more than 500 miles.