In The News

Showing 9 / 22 results

Composites World

CFRP mainframe, modern manufacturing techniques pioneer next-generation rigid airships

Advanced composites enable the revival of rigid airships in LTA Research's 400-foot-long Pathfinder 1.

The San Francisco Standard

Don’t you dare call it a blimp! Huge ‘airship’ floats again over SF

Here’s one way to make people look up from their phones: fly a giant blimp over San Francisco. That’s what happened Tuesday, when a slow-moving aircraft was spotted circling the Bay Area skies.

Akron Beacon Journal

Akron continues to lead way in airship technology, LTA chief says

Picture a hospital floating in the sky. Or a smooth, low-flying glide over a national park. LTA Research's Akron employees are working to make it a reality.

IEEE

LTA Research Airship Flies Over San Francisco Bay

The age of the airship is back, kind of. On 15 May, startup LTA Research flew its Pathfinder 1 airship outside Silicon Valley’s Moffett Federal Airfield for the first time.

Royal Aeronautical Society

Floating into the future

On 28 October 2025, the world’s largest aircraft made history when it flew over San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge for the first time.

Design News

LTA Research's Pathfinder 1 Redefines Electric Aviation as the World's Largest Aircraft

Interest in air transportation that is less energy intensive is renewing research in dirigible aircraft like the Zeppelins that we remember from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

BBC News

Pathfinder 1: The airship that could usher in a new age

On 24 October 2024, a brief post was shared on LinkedIn. In it LTA Research finally announced Pathfinder 1's first if brief untethered flight at Nasa's Moffett Field in California, part of the space agency's Ames Research Center.

TechCrunch

The World’s Largest Aircraft Breaks Cover in Silicon Valley

The world is getting its first look at Pathfinder 1, a prototype electric airship that will kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel, and accelerate the humanitarian work of its funder.

Popular Mechanics

The Electric Airship Revolution Is Almost Here. Are We Ready?

Companies around the world, including one backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, are hoping to resurrect the airship as a green energy, cargo-hauling alternative, but a few obstacles still remain.

Showing 9 / 22 results

1 2 3

About LTA Research

LTA Research is an aerospace research and development company reimagining aviation by building and flying next-generation airships. Founded in 2013, the company operates out of locations with deep aviation roots in Ohio, Nevada, and California. LTA is currently conducting flight training with Pathfinder 1, a proof-of-concept airship demonstrating the lighter-than-air technology that will redefine air travel and transportation to be more efficient, sustainable, and adaptable.

Updates

Explore the latest updates from LTA Research, including the flight program.

EXPLORE

Explore our proof of concept airship

See the Airship