Aston Martin ready to fly car parts to UK if Brexit deal collapses

Carmaker pursues ‘no deal’ contingency plans as third-quarter sales nearly double

High Speed Amphibian: The Humdinga – one of the more rugged vehicles capable both off-road and on-water

High Speed Amphibian capable both off-road and on-water.

High Speed Amphibian - The Humdinga
High Speed Amphibian – The Humdinga; photo: gibbsamphibians

UK based Gibbs Amphibians, the world authority on High Speed Amphibians, has been developing High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology for over 20 years, during which the company invested hundreds of millions of pounds and over 3 million man hours in the development and maturation of the technology. Gibbs is the first company in history to successfully create fully homologated vehicles that can exceed 30 mph on water as well as achieve typical speeds on land, transitioning between land and water in under 5 seconds, at the push of a button.

The Humdinga is one of the more rugged vehicles created by Gibbs, capable both off-road and on-water. It can carry up to 9 passengers, with the signature Gibbs central driving position and can carry a tonne in payload. It reaches speeds of 40mph on water and over 80mph on land, with twin Gibbs proprietary water jets and 4WD.

The Humdinga is a 4wd, 7m long, High Speed Amphibian with robust off-road and on water capabilities. It is using a V8 diesel engine driving the wheels and twin Gibbs proprietary water jets.

Gibbs has locations in the U.K. (Nuneaton) and New Zealand, utilising engineers and expertise from both countries to continue to develop High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology and the vehicles designed around it.

The UK based business, founded by Alan Gibbs with Neil Jenkins, has been developing High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology since 1994. Since then it has developed over eight different vehicles ranging from 3m to over 10m within many differing applications, including the record-breaking and award-winning Aquada, the famous Quadski and the robust Humdinga.

High Speed Amphibian - The Humdinga on the road
High Speed Amphibian – The Humdinga; photo: gibbsamphibians
High Speed Amphibian - The Humdinga emergency
High Speed Amphibian – The Humdinga; photo: gibbsamphibians
High Speed Amphibian - The Humdinga aerial
High Speed Amphibian – The Humdinga; photo: gibbsamphibians

The inaugural Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week coming to Newport, Rhode Island in 2019

  The Audrain Automobile Museum presents the inaugural Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week coming to Newport, Rhode Island on October 3rd-6th, 2019. The Motor Week is bringing together car enthusiasts of all ages and families alike, in celebration of Newport’s history of the automobile. Newport’s history is unmatched when it comes to luxury and … Read more

Celebrity Sea Glamping: A once-in-a-lifetime camping experience on the top deck of the luxury yacht

    Celebrity Cruises Unveils The First-Ever Glamping Experience At Sea. To help guests fully appreciate the breathtaking views this experience offers, a naturalist will also be available to highlight the stars and constellations visible from this region of the world directly from the cabana seats. The first luxury cruise ship ever designed exclusively for … Read more

At the wheel and beyond the supercar: McLaren x Belstaff create unique capsule of timeless classics for men and women

  Take a look at the first collaboration between the creator of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars and the iconic British clothing brand. The collection is based around a few essential classics that never go out of fashion. A collaboration between luxury automotive and fashion, this first capsule collection by McLaren Automotive and Belstaff incorporates … Read more

Element One hydrogen-powered aircraft to pioneer a new form of aerial mobility

 

The promise of hydrogen-electric power could shape the future of aviation. This new for form of aerial mobility is quiet and zero carbon, personalized, on-demand, decentralized and economically inclusive of rural communities. Element One brings together in one platform the ultra-light hydrogen batteries developed by hes, and the innovations in the field of distributed electric propulsion. This modular and redundant propulsion system increases the safety in flight.

HES Element One aircraft concept
HES Element One aircraft concept; photos: www.hes.sg

Targeting a first flying prototype before 2025, Singapore’s HES Energy Systems is the creator of Element One, the world’s first regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft. Designed as a zero-emissions aircraft, Element One merges HES’ ultra-light hydrogen fuel cell technologies with a distributed electric aircraft propulsion design. With virtually no change to its current drone-scale systems, HES’ distributed system allows for modularity and increased safety through multiple system redundancies. Refueling Element One will take no more than 10 minutes using an automated nacelle swap system that applies AGVs and automated warehouse operations such as those used by Amazon and Alibaba.

Element One is designed to fly 4 passengers for 500 km to 5000 km depending on whether hydrogen is stored in gaseous or liquid form. This performance is several orders of magnitude better than any battery-electric aircraft attempt so far, opening new aerial routes between smaller towns and rural areas using an existing and dense network of small-scale airports and aerodromes.

Originally from Singapore, HES has been working with a number of fast-moving start-ups and SMEs in France over the past year and exploring various locations to execute its Element One vision, including Aerospace Valley, the global aviation R&D hub located in Toulouse. Its parent company H3 Dynamics has been a symbol of intensifying technological cooperation between the two countries as part of the 2018 Year of Innovation, announced HES Energy Systems.

HES Element One aircraft concept-2018
HES Element One aircraft concept; photos: www.hes.sg

“It’s now possible to break past the endurance limits of battery-electric flight using HES’ ultra-light hydrogen energy storage in a distributed propulsion arrangement” says Taras Wankewycz, founder of HES. “Element One’s design paves the way for renewable hydrogen as a long-range fuel for electric aviation.”

In October, HES announced its plans to begin associating on-site hydrogen generation with fuel cell powered unmanned aircraft across a network of hydrogen-ready airports, in preparation for larger-scale electric aircraft such as Element One. HES is now in discussion with industrial-scale hydrogen producers to explore energy-efficient refueling systems using renewable solar or wind energy produced locally.

In an effort to explore new business models that help position Element One into new travel segments, HES has aligned its zero-carbon aviation roadmap with Wingly, a French startup that offers flight sharing services for decentralized and regional air travel.

HES Element One aircraft concept-
HES Element One aircraft concept; photos: www.hes.sg