(Photo ©FLYING WHALES)
Transporting wind turbine components, utility poles, mobile hospitals, or timber to locations without roads has always been a logistical challenge… and an environmental one as well.
FLYING WHALES aims to change that with the development of the LCA60T, a helium-powered hybrid electric airship capable of carrying up to 60 tons of cargo without requiring runways or ground infrastructure.
But designing a 200-meter-long aircraft and planning its future manufacturing required more than engineering expertise: it demanded connecting design, simulation, industrialization, and production within a single digital environment.
The answer was the 3DEXPERIENCE platform from Dassault Systèmes.
From Design to Manufacturing Through a Single Digital Thread
FLYING WHALES develops both the aircraft and its future manufacturing facility within a single collaborative environment.
Using CATIA, engineers design every component of the airship.
With SIMULIA, they validate structural performance under aerodynamic, assembly, and operational loads.
And with DELMIA, they create a complete virtual twin of the future factory to plan every assembly operation before construction even begins.
All of this is connected through ENOVIA, ensuring a single source of information for every team involved.
Our primary goal is digital continuity. It allows us to connect the airship designed in CATIA with the one that will be manufactured in DELMIA and link every step of the industrial process.
Global Collaboration Without Losing Control
The development of the LCA60T involves collaboration among more than 50 companies across France, Canada, and other countries, each responsible for systems such as propulsion, materials, and avionics.
Thanks to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, they all work from the same digital model, managing configurations, design changes, and certification processes without duplication or the constant exchange of files.
In addition, the factory’s virtual twin makes it possible to optimize resources, improve worker safety, and plan every stage of production before the physical facility is built.
(Photo ©FLYING WHALES)
A Project Ready to Scale
Once operational, the first manufacturing facility will be capable of producing up to 12 airships per year.
FLYING WHALES’ goal is to later replicate this same industrial model at future facilities in Canada and Australia, reusing both the manufacturing processes and the entire digital environment developed on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
Article based on the customer story published by Dassault Systèmes on its official website.
Access the full case study here: FLYING WHALES: Hybrid Airship | Dassault Systèmes
About FLYING WHALES
FLYING WHALES is a French-Canadian company developing the LCA60T, a 200-meter-long hybrid electric rigid airship capable of transporting up to 60 tons of heavy cargo to areas without ground infrastructure. Its goal is to provide a more sustainable logistics solution for industries such as energy, construction, forestry, and large-scale infrastructure.
Learn more: www.flying-whales.com
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