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What could be better than enjoying pristine water views aboard a luxurious cruise ship? How about floating leisurely across the skies inside a palatial airship that promises a bird's-eye view of our gorgeous planet? If British aerospace firm Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has its way, you will soon not only be floating amid the clouds but also heading to remote, unexplored destinations.

Measuring an astounding 302 feet long - 60 feet longer than the world's largest passenger plane, the A380, the hybrid vehicle combines the features of an aircraft and an airship. The eco-friendly vehicle's unique shape and helium-filled hull enables it to float in the skies for up to a fortnight at a time when unmanned, and five days with a crew on board. Its four propeller diesel engines provide 24 percent thrust up or down to help with landing, take-off, or when the plane is hovering.

While similar to the Zeppelin, which first took flight in 1900, three years before the Wright brothers conducted their historic flight, it is not as dangerous. That's because the Zeppelin was kept afloat by hydrogen, which explodes if exposed to even relatively low levels of oxygen. Helium, which boasts 92% of the lifting power of hydrogen, does not catch fire.

Devised in partnership with Design Q, the opulent airship will feature large bedrooms with attached bathrooms that resemble those of a five-star hotel and a spacious bar where guests will be able to enjoy fine dining and drinks. The highlight - at least for those who don't suffer from acrophobia - will be the Infinity Lounge, which will have both a glass ceiling and floor, promising guests breathtaking, 360-degree views. The airship's "slow" speed of 91mph will allow passengers to thoroughly immerse themselves in the experience.

However, before HAV can start taking reservations for these once-in-a-lifetime excursions, the company must first demonstrate that the airship can fly incidentfree for 200 hours. While the Airlander 10 has had its share of hiccups with an unsuccessful first flight in 2016 and a collapse in November 2017, its past six trips have been incident-free. So, it is just a matter of time before the massive airships will be allowed to carry tourists to exciting locations around the world.

(1) The red panda is a reddish brown, long-tailed mammal that is about the size of a large domestic cat. It is found in high mountain forests and bamboo thickets in parts of China, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. The red panda has many other common names, including lesser panda, firefox, red cat-bear, or red bear-cat. Scientists once thought that red pandas were closely related to giant pandas or to raccoons. With further study, however, many authorities now classify the red panda as the only member of the family Ailuridae and the genus Ailurus.

(2) The red panda looks somewhat like a raccoon. It is about 20–26 inches (50–65 centimetres) long from nose to rump. Its ringed, bushy tail is about 12–20 inches (30–50 centimetres) long. It weighs about 6.5–14 pounds (3–6.2 kilograms). The long, soft coat fur is rusty red to dark chestnut. The face and ears are mostly white, but the backs of the ears are reddish brown. A stripe of red-brown runs from each eye to the corners of the mouth. The feet have hairy soles, and the claws can be partly drawn in.

(3) Red pandas generally live alone, except during mating season. During the day, they sleep curled up in a tree. They feed at night, at dawn, and at dusk, eating mostly bamboo. However, they also eat berries, other plant material, insects, and birds’ eggs. Like giant pandas, red pandas use special extensions of the wrist bones to handle bamboo stems. Red pandas are excellent climbers. They use their tails to help them balance while moving around in trees. The tail also serves as a blanket that they curl around themselves to keep warm during the winter.

(4) Female red pandas make a nest in trees or bamboo thickets for their offspring. Litters generally consist of two young ones, but may vary between one and four. The young are covered in thick, gray fur to keep them warm in the cool mountain habitat. The young stay in the nest for about 90 days, and they may stay with their mother for about a year.

(5) The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the red panda as endangered. The red panda’s status is mainly a result of habitat destruction. In the forests where red pandas live, people graze livestock and clear the trees for lumber or to create roads, farms, or settlements. Another threat is poaching, or the illegal killing, trapping, or taking of wild animals. Red pandas are popular for their fur and meat and for the pet trade, adding factors to their declining population. Conservation efforts have included setting aside protected areas for the species as well as enforcing anti-poaching laws.