Flying Whales Airships: The company, which invests in Gironde, signs for another factory in Quebec

Flying Whales has formalized an agreement in principle with the cities of Sherbrooke and Cookshire-Eaton for the establishment of a factory focused on the South and North American markets.

The Flying Whales production plant in Laruscade, in Haute Gironde , has not yet seen the light of day but the company, specializing in the production of airships for the transport of heavy loads, is already planning its development abroad. The company has just formalized an agreement in principle with the cities of Sherbrooke and Cookshire-Eaton, in Quebec, as well as with the Sherbrooke Airport Development Corporation, for the establishment of an assembly and testing site for LCA60T rigid airships, its flagship model, on the site of the said airport.

"The 50-hectare site, located in Cookshire-Eaton, will be developed to house airship assembly buildings, test areas, and a flight pad. This future Quebec complex will become the Flying Whales airship assembly center for all North and South American markets," the press release states. This agreement in principle, signed by Vincent Guibout, President of Flying Whales Québec and General Manager of Flying Whales, is "a key step in the development" of the company, which "secures the deployment of the LCA60T to meet the logistical and environmental challenges of the American continent."

The Franco-Canadian company is also continuing to examine the Laruscade production plant file. During a meeting held on Thursday, April 17 in Saint-Savin , the industrial director of the project, Clément Barthe, gave a summary of the project to an audience of elected officials from the Latitude Nord Gironde community of communes. The building permit has been filed, with a public inquiry scheduled for mid-June. The company, in which the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region has directly invested , has reworked its copy to obtain the green light from government services after unfavorable opinions issued by the Environmental Authority. Construction of the production plant is currently planned for completion in early 2027, with the first airship coming into service in 2029.