Posted on 03/15/2024 3:30:21 PM PDT by Libloather
Call it the Skytanic.
Engineers have unveiled plans for the world’s largest airplane, dubbed the WindRunner, which could revolutionize renewable energy by transporting gigantic wind turbine blades from point A to B.
Designed by the Colorado-based energy company Radia, the behemoth cargo carrier measures a whopping 356 feet long and 79 feet tall with a wingspan of 261 feet.
For reference, this castle in the sky is nearly as long as a regulation NFL football field and 127 feet longer than the Boeing 747 — the world’s largest passenger plane.
With a potential carrying capacity of 80 tons, it will also be able to hold 12 times as much as the latter aircraft as well.
In order to accommodate the jumbo jet’s landing, a 6,000 foot runway will also need to be constructed.
The WindRunner’s purpose is to fly the blades of onshore wind turbines — which measure between 150-300 plus feet long and can weigh 35 tons — to various wind farms.
Due to their gargantuan size and unwieldiness, these freakishly big fan blades currently have to be transported offshore via specialized marine vessels, which limit their use on land.
“Today’s largest wind turbines and the even larger ones of the future cannot be transported to prime onshore wind farms via ground infrastructure,” Radia writes on its website.
This challenge initially inspired Radia employees to undertake this massive endeavor.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Sounds like the disastrous Messerschmitt ME 323 Gigant. Allies had no problem shooting these albratrosses down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_323_Gigant
“The wing loading seems excessive.”
It does look that way. That, and the logistics of having to build a 6,000’ runway by every wind farm it flies to just doesn’t look right. I call B.S. on the whole idea.
Well, the Dem/comz are letting the chycommz fly balloons all over the US. While they are at it they as well have them move turbine blades by using bigger balloons.
rhymes with Satanic
Oh, you mean like ... the Tennessee Titanics?
The public is beginning to realize that windmills are a gigantic boondoggle; they rarely produce even 10% of their nameplate rating, and the unpredictable surges they produce are destabilizing the grids they are attached to. Those giant blades typically have a fatigue life of 20 years. They can't be recycled, and are already piling up as landfill material.
A brilliant book laying out the details of how useless the wind energy scheme is is Shorting the Grid by Meredith Angwin. Meredith was a long-time power industry insider. She knows.
Will this actually be cheaper than truck or rail?
The wings aren’t short; rather, the fuselage is long and the load is not that great. 6,000’ required runway length is modest. A little tricky to design the airframe so sufficient rotation angle can be attained.
Truck/rail can’t handle the longer blades.
“the logistics of having to build a 6,000’ runway by every wind farm it flies to just doesn’t look right.”
That I totally agree with — absurd.
How do they get from the a/p to the assembly site?
Image of Skytanic
They also need to design a giant helicopter /s
Blimps still work....
Yeah, I guess they would if wind cooperates. Maybe go the whole distance. You should patent the idea...
How long is the energy break-even point of the construction of these colossal Sky Cuisinarts, in decades?
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