Maiden flight for giant Airlander postponed at last minute

The maiden flight of the world's longest aircraft has been postponed at the last minute.

The Airlander 10 - part plane, part airship - was due to take off from Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire on Sunday but a "technical issue" meant they had to abort the test for safety reasons.

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The aircraft can only fly in daylight for a test flight and it was feared the flight would not have been completed before dark by the time the issue was resolved, an organiser said.

It is not known when another attempt at a test flight will be made.

The enormous aircraft measures 302ft (92m) long and is around 50ft (15m) longer than the biggest passenger jets.

It was first developed for the US government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft but it fell foul of defence cutbacks.

British firm Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) launched a campaign to return the Airlander 10 to the skies in May 2015.

The huge aircraft will be able to stay airborne for around five days during manned flights.

HAV claims it could be used for a variety of functions such as surveillance, communications, delivering aid and even passenger travel.