World's largest aircraft the Airlander 10 is fitted with fins and engines ahead of its first flight (2)

The fin, measuring 9 x 11 metre, was secured to the hull using a series of cables and clamps. If you were to lay two tail fins side-by-side, they would comfortably cover the playing area of a tennis court.

The vessel was filled with 1.3 million cubic feet of helium - enough to fill 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools - in a test run last October.

Yet despite its impressive size and design, which is hoped to reinvigorate interest in using airships, the vehicle is attracting more attention for its appearance.

Some have hailed the Airlander as the future of air travel because, unlike conventional aeroplanes, it emits little pollution and is not noisy enough to disturb people on the ground.

Professor Chris Atkin, who will become president of the Royal Aeronautical Society in May, described the project as 'absolutely fantastic'. After sitting in the cockpit of a flight simulator developed for Airlander 10 (pictured), Mr Atkin predicted the aircraft could be used by passengers on pleasure flights and to get to locations that are hard to reach

The October tests caused a stir on Twitter, with many spotting the airship's rather unfortunate resemblance to a human bottom.

In one case a head-on image of the airship has been altered to include a picture of Kim Kardashian, who is famous for her derriere.

The craft has already been tested with a successful hover test, with the hull being filled with helium and floated outside the aircraft hanger in November, but this will be the first test once the engines are successfully attached.

The date of the test flight has not been announced but the craft will be restricted to a 70-mile (112km) radius. If successful, an aircraft based on this prototype will go into production.