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Drones gotta land
American Thinker ^ | 12/12/2024 | Ned Barnett

Posted on 12/12/2024 10:17:07 AM PST by SeekAndFind

For a drone to fly, it needs some kind of energy source.

It is possible that for these drones flying over New Jersey, this could be electrical. But that’s unlikely. Elon Musk’s Tesla brand’s claim to fame is the best proprietary battery in the world, but it weighs far more than the drones could carry into the sky. Which leaves some kind of liquid fuel.

Here’s how that works.

To illustrate this, in World War II, America had a world-exclusive monopoly on high-octane aviation gas. We helped the British with the Battle of Britain by supplying them with what was then high octane fuel, in the high 90s. Germany, by comparison, had 87 octane fuel. “Octane” is a measure of the fuel’s efficient use of energy. The higher the octane number, the more powerful the fuel. But by 1944, America was producing 145 octane fuel.

So when the P-51C and D Mustang fighters went to war – in 1944 – they had this incredibly high octane fuel, while the German Luftwaffe fighters still had 87 octane fuel.

Here’s what that meant in practical terms. The Mustang had huge range, because it got much more energy out of a gallon of av-gas. So it could cruise all the way to Berlin, then outfight the best of the Luftwaffe, then fly all the way home. When the head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering, saw his first Mustang over Berlin, he said he knew the war was lost. He was not wrong.

That’s what high energy fuel means.

For drones to perform the odd maneuvers for seven hours at a time, it would need three things. First, a fuel far more efficient in terms of energy per unit, because it couldn’t carry a lot of fuel. Drones aren’t built for that.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: drones; newjersey; newyork; pennsylvania; virginia
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1 posted on 12/12/2024 10:17:07 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
Most POWERFUL Drone I've Ever Flown! DJI Flycart 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nglJ7zZkr4Q&t=1s

Huge drone that uses large batteries.

NOTE: I have never flown it that is the name of the video

2 posted on 12/12/2024 10:21:24 AM PST by frogjerk
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To: SeekAndFind

And we are still waiting for a flying car.


3 posted on 12/12/2024 10:22:58 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: SeekAndFind

If all a drone basically has to do is carry it’s battery, electric motors can be quite efficient at flying for hours.
But when we talk about drones, there are different types. Retail drones tend to be rotary (unmanned) aircraft, and so the primary load is motors and batteries. Fixed wing style drones (used more in the military) have to support wings for lift and stabilizing flight surfaces, but due to the design of thrust only needing to create enough velocity for lift rather than having to suspend the mass of the aircraft vertically, they can use energy more efficiently and have more extended flight duration and/or carry loads (cargo or weapons).

Regardless, all drones have to land, don’t they?

No. Not if they are refueled.
Refueling has already been implemented with fixed wing aircraft, but It theoretically could be possible to change batteries as well, if the drone docks with a larger craft, and/or if there are multiple batteries that can be exchanged mid-flight.


4 posted on 12/12/2024 10:25:23 AM PST by z3n (Kakistocracy)
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To: SeekAndFind

Got to thinking about this fuel thing the other day. Do we know if these are the exact same objects flying every night? Can’t we track them during the day? There should be a way to find out what they are using for fuel. We may have to cut loose & shoot one of the things down to find out what’s going on here.


5 posted on 12/12/2024 10:25:44 AM PST by oldtech
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To: SeekAndFind

I believe that the author does not understand octane ratings.


6 posted on 12/12/2024 10:29:39 AM PST by sjmjax
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To: z3n

So the answer to the fuel problem is to just launch a flying aircraft carrier with a fleet of flying maintenance drones.

Makes perfect sense.


7 posted on 12/12/2024 10:32:20 AM PST by gnarledmaw (Hivemind liberals worship leaders, sovereign conservatives select servants.)
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To: Larry Lucido

“And we are still waiting for a flying car.”

Can you imagine all the mid-air collisions that would cause.


8 posted on 12/12/2024 10:34:50 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: sjmjax

Higher the octane the less the spark needs to be retarded to stop engine knock. This increases efficiency and power.


9 posted on 12/12/2024 10:34:55 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: sjmjax
I believe that the author does not understand octane ratings.

Hear, Hear!

10 posted on 12/12/2024 10:37:04 AM PST by 1raider1
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To: SeekAndFind

An island would do just as good as a ship. Perhaps even better.


11 posted on 12/12/2024 10:40:02 AM PST by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: oldtech

No private pilot with their own aircraft to try?

Surely there is one roguish enough to chance it?


12 posted on 12/12/2024 10:40:12 AM PST by wally_bert (I cannot be sure for certain, but in my personal opinion I am certain that I am not sure..)
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To: Parley Baer

Chlorine in the gene pool....


13 posted on 12/12/2024 10:41:24 AM PST by Still a Patriot
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To: SeekAndFind

Point being that these things have to land somewhere, which makes them vulnerable to identification.


14 posted on 12/12/2024 10:45:31 AM PST by SpaceBar
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To: SeekAndFind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Macon_(ZRS-5)


15 posted on 12/12/2024 10:50:28 AM PST by sasquatch (Do NOT forget Ashli Babbit! c/o piytar)
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To: SeekAndFind

I personally think they are ours and are looking for something.

Let’s say that is the case. What could they be looking for? Dirty or conventional nukes, trafficked humans, biological weapons are some. In any of those cases the military would play dumb and pretend to not know. If it were some weapons they also wouldn’t want to spook the population. That would make perfect sense.


16 posted on 12/12/2024 11:03:32 AM PST by BlueMondaySkipper (Involuntarily subsidizing the parasite class since 1981)
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To: BlueMondaySkipper

i agree with you ...


17 posted on 12/12/2024 11:07:01 AM PST by bankwalker (Repeal the 19th ...)
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To: sjmjax

I was confused by the author’s understanding of high octane gas also. My understanding is the higher octane gas is for higher compression engines. The higher compression engines will generate more HP. More HP does not always relate to better mileage. The P51’s long range had more to do with better airframe and engine design.

As a kid I experimented with the various aspects of engine efficiency with after market parts and the use of different gasolines. I kept very accurate MPG records, and the higher octane gas did not improve mileage.


18 posted on 12/12/2024 11:16:52 AM PST by redfreedom (May God save us from what the Democrats do in the name of good.)
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To: sjmjax
I believe that the author does not understand octane ratings.

I don't know what "octane ratings" are, either. Octane is an 8-carbon chemical in the same family as methane, a one-carbon chemical. Methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, octane.
19 posted on 12/12/2024 11:16:56 AM PST by Colinsky
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To: SeekAndFind

This drone mystery is such a joke. If we can detect ICBM’s being launched at us, or any other missile or aircraft and track it from origin to final destination, then we can certainly track a drone.

This is just stupid. The local air traffic controllers likely know where these things are coming from and going to. Let’s face it, these drones are in a given air traffic control center’s zone of responsibility and they must be tracked like any other airplane to prevent accidents. Especially over high density population centers.

The mere thought that no one knows where they are coming from is just plain stupid. Only those dumb enough to still be believing in the covid scam are the ones dumb enough to believe the spin on this stuff.


20 posted on 12/12/2024 11:22:21 AM PST by redfreedom (May God save us from what the Democrats do in the name of good.)
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