When it "floats" off the assembly line, one might wonder if Boeing's heavy lifter-capable of flying a Caterpillar D8 to a roadless jobsite-is airship, helicopter or crane. Pete Jess, who invented the JHL-40, just calls it a "blimp on steroids." If the project flies, even larger aerial lifters may hit the sky as construction firms fall under increased pressure to limit their impact on the ground. The 302-ft-long, 217-ft-wide and 118-ft-tall aircraft would be the world's biggest aerial crane, with a 40-ton capacity twice the size of the largest helicopter, the Russian-built MI-26. It would carry equipment and materials 200 miles and back at 70 knots without refueling using a helium-filled balloon supporting four Chinook helicopter rotors and thrusters.
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