When the U.S. Army canceled the Airlander--a hybrid airship that borrows from both soft-bodied blimps and rigid-bodied zeppelin-style dirigibles--it looked like the dream of new airships for the 21st century went down with the funding. Then a curious thing happened: The plane stayed afloat. Thanks to crowdfunding site CrowdCube, 914 private investors just put $3,360,000 into Hybrid Air Vehicles, the company behind the hybrid.

Airlander has had a rocky development cycle. Developed as an Army surveillance tool for the war in Afghanistan, it looked super promising, and Popular Science included it in our Best of What's New for both its efficiency and planned days-long endurance. The drawdown of war in Afghanistan deflated interest in the project. Development continued in the United Kingdom after America stopped funding it.