@ksbw_8: People throughout Monterey County reported seeing an airship overhead on Tuesday. The airship was Pathfinder 1, a large airship operated by LTA Research, which flew south along Monterey Bay from Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View to Salinas Municipal Airport. The flight was Pathfinder 1’s first landing away from its home airfield and the longest stretch its crew has flown over open water, according to LTA. The company said the coastal route exposed the airship to more varied weather and terrain than it encounters near Moffett Field. Ocean air carries more moisture, and conditions can change where the water meets land. Pilots and flight test engineers aboard experienced the conditions while the aircraft recorded data for later analysis. Pathfinder 1 is 406.5 feet long and 66 feet wide. LTA describes it as the world’s largest aircraft currently flying. The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized it to fly in the greater San Francisco Bay Area and other regions of California. "Pathfinder 1 is the first step in bringing back large-scale lighter-than-air flight. It was built to validate a modern take on the historic rigid airship design. Before developing larger aircraft intended for uses like humanitarian aid and sustainable travel, LTA needs to resolve these critical questions," wrote LTA.
