LTA Research, an airship development company backed by Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin, demonstrated the capabilities of its lighter-than-air ‘Pathfinder 1’ vehicle with a flight around San Francisco Bay, California, on October 28, 2025.
At 124 meters long, the Pathfinder 1 is currently the largest aircraft in the world. This modern take on the airship concept started to take shape with the construction of the first prototypes in 2016. Filled with helium and powered by 12 electric motors, the Pathfinder 1 has also fly-by-wire controls, not unlike those of a modern airliner.
Although this was not the first public flight of the Pathfinder 1, the recent renewal by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the airship’s Special Airworthiness Certificate has allowed LTA Research to operate within an expanded flight envelope in the Bay Area.
Because of this, Pathfinder 1 was able to complete a flight over the iconic Golden Gate bridge and areas close to downtown San Francisco, which offered rather unique photo opportunities.
Take a look at the images:
