The aircraft · dAS20
The wing
is the idea.
Aviation spent a century making wings stiffer. We made one out of air.
The dAS20 prototype · Le Havre airport · 18 May 2026
How the wing works.
From the film to the patch kit.
01 · Film
A technical film a fraction of a millimeter thick.
Light, airtight, weldable. That is the prototype; the production wing will use a stiffer, non-stretch fabric.
02 · Welds
Welded, not sewn.
High-frequency welding fuses the layers. No needle holes, no glue.
03 · Pressure
Air turns film into a beam.
At a pressure lower than a bike tire, the wing holds its aerodynamic shape.
04 · Repair
On the ground, a puncture is a patch.
A hole gets a welded patch in the hangar and the wing goes back into service. Behaviour after a puncture in flight is part of our test programme.
Up close
Air, film, welds.
No internal structure holds the wing. Pressure does. The seams you see are high-frequency welds.
The inflated film, close up · Jul 2026
Repairable by design
Hurt it.
Patch it.
A rigid wing that cracks goes back to the factory. Ours gets a patch, on the ground, from the same tools that built it.
Patch, welded in the hangar · 11 Aug 2026
Deflated.
The wing, folded in its transport bag.
Packed.
The disassembled kit, a person for scale.
Why air
Light on its wing.
Wing loading is the weight each square meter of wing carries. A low wing loading is one of the reasons long electric flights may be possible. The next flight-test campaigns will show the endurance we can actually achieve.
Seagull
≈ 5 kg/m²
dAS20 at 60 kg
≈ 2.5 kg/m²
DESIGN VALUE
dAS20 at 80 kg
≈ 3.3 kg/m²
SAME WING, WITH THE ~20 KG TARGET PAYLOAD
Cessna 172
≈ 69 kg/m²
The numbers.
MEASURED means measured on the prototype. TARGET means designed for, not yet demonstrated in flight.
Wingspan
8 m
MEASURED
Mass with batteries
60 kg
MEASURED
Endurance
3–6 h
TARGET
Payload
~20 kg
TARGET
Propulsion
Electric
Lifting gas
None
Transport
1 car
DESIGN GOAL
Rules
EASA
“SPECIFIC” CATEGORY
The wing, fully inflated · Le Havre airport · 4 Aug 2026
Flight test programme
Where we are.
We publish where we stand.
Done
Wing built, inflated, folded
Welded film wing, 8 m span. The wing folds into a bag.
Done · 7 May 2026
First takeoff
Le Havre airport, under an authorization covering the initial flight-test programme.
Summer 2026
Takeoffs and short flights
Handling, control and data. Flights so far are short.
Now
Upgrading the prototype for the next flight campaign
Next
Next flight campaign: controlled, repeatable circuits
Then
Endurance build-up toward 3–6 h
TARGET · NOT YET FLOWN
FAQ
Fair questions.
01
Is it a balloon or a blimp?
No. It is an airplane: it flies because its wing moves through the air. The wing gets its shape from air pressure. Nothing on board is lighter than air.
02
Can it explode or catch fire like a gas airship?
The wing holds ordinary air at low pressure. There is no hydrogen or helium on board. Like any electric aircraft, the batteries follow standard safety practice.
03
What happens if the wing is punctured?
On the ground, it gets a welded patch. Behaviour after a puncture in flight is part of our test programme.
04
How long can it stay up?
It is designed for 3 to 6 hours per flight. We are early in flight testing: flights so far are short, and endurance build-up comes with the next flight campaigns.
05
What can it carry?
About 20 kg of payload is the target: cameras, thermal imaging, gas sensors, radar, a radio relay, or your own equipment.
06
Is it allowed to fly?
The dAS20 has flown under an authorization covering its initial flight-test programme, in the European “Specific” category. Commercial operations will need the appropriate authorizations for each intended mission.
07
How about wind and rain?
Our very first prototype, far from final, has already taken off into an 11-knot wind (about 20 km/h). Its full wind and weather envelope is still under test, and we will publish it once it is measured.