Once the Aeroscraft finally got in the air, though, this new kind of aluminium dirigible got considerable attention for its potential in military applications, air freight, air cruise tourism, and more. First, though, there's what the Aeroscraft is not: namely, a blimp.

Blimps have no real frame, and they function like a balloon because the only way they maintain their shape is by remaining fully inflated. They deflate as soon as the gas inside them is allowed to escape. Dirigibles, on the other hand, have frames – and in this 21^st century version, that frame is made of aluminium and carbon fiber. The Aeroscraft is helium-powered, and lifts vertically rather than relying on any wind beneath its wings.

A prototype version of the aircraft completed a few years ago was 81 meters long and 30 meters wide, with the full ship at 122 meters and capable of carrying at least 66 tons of cargo. The project has benefitted from help provided by NASA, and the United States has spent $50 million on it with a military operational focus while also looking at how disaster relief might be supported – the major advantage of the shiny aircraft dubbed the "Dragon Dream" is that it doesn't need runways.

"Cargo can either be loaded into the Aeroscraft's internal cargo bay or slung under the blimp using the company's proprietary ceiling suspension cargo deployment (CSCD) system," writes Gizmodo, "which automatically balances the hanging load to prevent it from swinging around and crashing the dirigible."

It also captures the attention of Iceland and other governments.

IcelandAir Cargo signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aeros in 2013, because the Aeroscraft is seen as a solution for remote areas without roads and related delivery infrastructure.

"Infrastructure costs become barriers to recovering resources, as it is difficult to get cargo from point-of-origin to point-of-need," the company explained, noting how the vertical liftoffs and landings add to the appeal of a transport and logistics solution needed in Canada, Greenland, Russia and other Arctic states.

Yet the single greatest fan of the giant aluminium airship, which uses a compressed-air system similar to what submarines use to stay afloat, is its creator. Aeroscraft CEO Igor Pasternak, intent on delivering a lighter aircraft, says he focused on dirigibles because there was less competition and, well, the sky was the limit.

"I decided to become an airship designer," Pasternak said in a New Yorker interview. "It was a kind of more open field to create something. To make new stuff happen."

The expansive Pasternak explains that the evolution of human creativity in transportation – across roads and ships and railroads and airports – has led to something of a bottleneck. "The next development is to move the stuff without infrastructure. Because in the end it's all about costs, and an airship is much, much cheaper. You're not spending any energy for lift."

It worked, but Pasternak suffered a setback when the Dragon Dream was damaged in a hangar roof collapse. He continues on with an engineering vision that he describes as being as much art as it is science. Earlier this year, the United States issued a patent for the skeleton of the ship, dubbed the "Aeroshell," and its three main structural components: the internal mainframe, skin, and rigid frame.

The design may qualify as art, but it is science – and aluminium – that makes the lightweight Aeroscraft and its vertical flight capacities possible, with disruptive technologies that are changing the future of flight.