Toys of the Elite: Google Co-Founder Gets FAA Clearance for His Helium Airship

The skies of California are set to witness the flight of the latest toy of the Masters of the Universe — Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s Pathfinder 1, a helium-filled airship that recently gained flight clearance from the FAA.

IEEE Spectrum reports that the Pathfinder 1, a helium-filled airship, has been granted permission to embark on its inaugural flight tests at Moffett Field in California. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, through his company LTA Research, has pioneered the aircraft with a vision of revolutionizing humanitarian aid and cargo transportation.

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google Inc., wears Project Glass internet glasses while speaking at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Google Inc. unveiled a $199 handheld computer called the Nexus 7 that features a 7-inch screen and is designed to help the company vie with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. in the surging market for tablets. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The FAA’s special airworthiness certificate permits the Pathfinder 1 to navigate within designated boundaries, reaching altitudes of up to 460 meters, ensuring a safe and regulated testing environment.

The Pathfinder 1 boasts unique construction features including welded titanium hubs and carbon fiber reinforced polymer tubes, allowing the use of non-flammable helium as a lifting gas. The airship will undergo 25 low-level flights, totaling 50 hours of flight time, after initial ground testing on a mobile mast.

Equipped with twelve electric motors, the Pathfinder 1 is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), demonstrating its versatility and adaptability. The hybrid propulsion system, consisting of diesel generators and batteries, further enhances the airship’s operational efficiency. Pathfinder 1 has a hybrid propulsion system with two 150 kW diesel generators and 24 batteries powering the electric motors.

Flying around the California skies in a helium airship might be one way Brin keeps his mind off his recent divorce, which was finalized in September amid swirling allegations that his wife had an affair with Elon Musk. As Breitbart News reported:

Business Insider reports that Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has officially ended his marriage with Nicole Shanahan. The divorce, finalized on May 26, comes after allegations of an affair between Shanahan and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of Twitter (now known as X). Both Shanahan and Musk have vehemently denied these claims, with Musk labeling them as “total bs” on Twitter.

Brin and Shanahan, who first crossed paths at a yoga retreat in 2015, were married in November 2018. The couple welcomed their daughter just two weeks later. However, court documents reveal that the marriage came to an end in January 2022, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. The couple has agreed to share both legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old daughter.