The world’s largest aircraft made its maiden voyage on Aug. 17 from an airfield in Bedfordshire, England. At 302 feet long, 143 feet wide, and 85 feet high, the hybrid airship—called “Airlander 10”—can carry payloads of up to 22,000 pounds and stay aloft for five days at a time during manned flights.

According to the craft’s developer, Hybrid Air Vehicles, the Airlander 10 is designed to provide high-endurance, cargo-carrying capability. The company claims it “can take off and land in a short distance from unprepared sites in desert, ice, water, or open field environments.”

Engineers may still need to work out some kinks, though: A week after the maiden voyage, upon returning from a successful 100-minute flight, the Airlander 10 inexplicably nose-dived as it came in for a landing, damaging the cockpit. The crew was “safe and well,” according to a statement from Hybrid Air Vehicles.

The Airlander 10 is filled with lighter-than-air helium. It is considered a hybrid airship because its aerodynamic shape also generates lift, much like the wings of a conventional airplane.

The airship began life as a prototype built for the U.S. Army’s Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle program. When the project was canceled in 2013, Hybrid Air Vehicles acquired the airship and redeveloped it for civilian purposes such as surveillance, communications, aid delivery, and passenger travel.

The company hopes to turn out 10 Airlanders a year by 2021, according to the BBC.

Red box shop

The rise of cell phones made public telephone booths obsolete. But Britain’s iconic red phone boxes aren’t going away. Instead, they’re being repurposed as tiny shops, solar charging stations, even as displays for stained glass art.

The latest attempt at rejuvenating the British phone box reconnects it with its telephonic roots: The Lovefone Company is converting dozens of the phone booths into tiny mobile phone repair shops. In addition to repair services for smartphones and tablets, the boxes offer free public Wi-Fi and six free charging stations, according to tech website New Atlas.

Lovefone beefed up the windows of the boxes with polycarbonate sheeting for security and installed a workbench, shelving, and places to hang tools. Since the boxes are listed structures, Lovefone couldn’t make permanent changes to them.

The most recognizable British phone box—the classic “Kiosk No. 6”—was introduced in the 1930s. Created by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the silver jubilee of the coronation of King George V, more than 10,000 of the beloved boxes remain of the 60,000 originally installed. —M.C.

Writing in style

Scientists at University College London have created a computer program that accurately replicates anyone’s handwriting—even famous people long dead, such as Abraham Lincoln or Arthur Conan Doyle.

To use the program, you simply present the machine-learning algorithm with a paragraph-length sample of your handwriting. The software learns your writing style—down to character choices, pen-line texture and color, and the way you connect letters. Someone else can then type in new text and the computer will reproduce it in your handwriting.

Called “My Text in Your Handwriting,” the program fooled readers 40 percent of the time in comparison tests with actual handwriting.

Will crooks use it to forge documents? The developers claim that, on the contrary, the program’s unique text analysis approach will actually help in detecting forgeries. —M.C.