Lighter Than Air

Mortals make elaborate plans,
    but God has the last word.

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;
    God probes for what is good.

Put God in charge of your work,
    then what you’ve planned will take place.

-- Proverbs 16:1-3

What if innovation in the sky is not necessarily sleeker, faster, higher? In fact, what if innovation in the sky looks a lot like the floating blimps of the early to mid-20th century?

For one company in South Yorkshire, innovation is about sustainability, clean energy, and microgrid technology. The Airlander 10 is a spacious airship filled with helium, which is more expensive and less buoyant than hydrogen, but also less flammable and therefore far safer than the old-time blimps most of us envision. The carbon emissions of the Airlander are 90 percent lower than those of an equivalent journey on a conventional airplane, according to the designers of the company Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV).

But this is not your grandparents' dirigible. Picture open interior spaces, expansive windows that open, improved accessibility, and a smooth, quiet ride. Rather than cutting through the air at 500 miles per hour, these airships would travel at a gentle 80 miles per hour, delivering passengers along regular local routes.

Nicknamed "The Flying Bum" by some (imagine what you will), the Airlander 10 is slated for 20 to 24 aircraft products by 2026, and its developers are convinced that this hybrid airship will be the environment-saving travel solution of the future.

Sometimes a new way forward is not the most beautiful or even the most consistently successful. But when we rely on the Lord to extend our imagination beyond what is expected, one never knows what new innovations will emerge. As October draws to a close, how will you "put God in charge of your work," leaning into God's last word rather than your own?

God bless,

Jennie