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Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
21–30 of 37 posts
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#22Aren't the wind farms where these blades are going to be installed out at sea? Doesn't it make more sense to build the factory (for the blades) at a port and transport the blades via ship. This whole idea sounds like poor planning.
The idea behind this plane is to enable the construction of the largest wind turbines specifically on land
Perhaps they could construct it on some of the land that touches the ocean
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#23Doesn't make intuitive sense to me why you'd need a whole new airplane for this. Can you not rig something up to let one of these blades ride on top of an existing plane like the space shuttle transporter? Or would Sergey Brin's giant dirigible work? Or two helicopters flying in formation? Or just make the blades come in two pieces assembled on site? Just seems very hard to believe a project as massive as a whole new…
I actually know someone at radia and asked them this exact question last year. Apparently the blades are also extremely fragile and couldn't withstand the forces of being mounted on an aircraft. The problem with lighter than air is that the wind farms tend to be in places with, well, a lot of wind. Not ideal places for lighter than air vehicles.
Helicopters just aren't efficient enough, would have the same issues with wind (especially when carrying a giant airfoil), and would damage the blade if they came out even a bit out of formation.
You're right it doesn't make intuitive sense, but the people doing this are pretty damn smart and actually did think of these things!
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#24[deleted]
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#25Doesn't make intuitive sense to me why you'd need a whole new airplane for this. Can you not rig something up to let one of these blades ride on top of an existing plane like the space shuttle transporter? Or would Sergey Brin's giant dirigible work? Or two helicopters flying in formation? Or just make the blades come in two pieces assembled on site? Just seems very hard to believe a project as massive as a whole new…
For one thing, a 747 is only 250 feet long. So a 300-foot blade on top would trail significantly. For another, the shuttle piggyback worked partly because of the shuttle’s aerodynamic profile. It’s designed to go straight forward into the wind. This means the 747 still handled well. A windmill blade, though, would present a very different cross section to the oncoming air, and seriously screw up the host’s aerodynami…
The Boeing Dreamlifter is literally that. There's also the Airbus BelugaXL. Taking big cargo aircraft and putting bigger cargo fairings on it has been going on since the 60s.
None are capable of a 300' length, but they're also not far off. I'm not sure what Radias gameplan here is but I'm extremely doubtful they'll be able to spin up a bespoke airframe for this one market before Boeing/Airbus have built a FeverDreamlifter or BelugaXXL off an existing airframe.
Especially with A380s to be had rather on the cheap these days.
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#26I follow the CNN website, driven by some morbid compulsion, and this is one of the characteristic dark patterns that can be found any day or hour. It's always in the center column of the -- desktop -- site, like this one I just collected on the site: “Prioritizing THIS could lead to a happier life, according to expert”. The themes range from oddities like desert complexes to underwater houses, orbital tourism spacecraft, you get the idea. Always posed as if it was the next big thing. If you haven't seen it, don't worry. They are recycled after a few weeks/months and the law of eternal return always brings them back. This week it was this ugly plane. Click bait.
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Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#27Doesn't make intuitive sense to me why you'd need a whole new airplane for this. Can you not rig something up to let one of these blades ride on top of an existing plane like the space shuttle transporter? Or would Sergey Brin's giant dirigible work? Or two helicopters flying in formation? Or just make the blades come in two pieces assembled on site? Just seems very hard to believe a project as massive as a whole new…
I actually know someone at radia and asked them this exact question last year. Apparently the blades are also extremely fragile and couldn't withstand the forces of being mounted on an aircraft. The problem with lighter than air is that the wind farms tend to be in places with, well, a lot of wind. Not ideal places for lighter than air vehicles. Helicopters just aren't efficient enough, would have the same issues wit…
I really don't think they did, the problems that need to be solved to retrofit existing airframes to carry a lightweight 300' load pale in comparison to what's needed to design a whole new jumbo sized airframe. Especially since once they've designed an airframe that's only good for carrying large low density loads to rough fields, then that will be the only thing it's good for.
A large wide body airliner with a big-ass shell and gravel kit retrofitted is still a large widebody airliner. Just one that happens to have a decent amount of headroom.
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
For one thing, a 747 is only 250 feet long. So a 300-foot blade on top would trail significantly. For another, the shuttle piggyback worked partly because of the shuttle’s aerodynamic profile. It’s designed to go straight forward into the wind. This means the 747 still handled well. A windmill blade, though, would present a very different cross section to the oncoming air, and seriously screw up the host’s aerodynami…
The Boeing Dreamlifter is literally that. There's also the Airbus BelugaXL. Taking big cargo aircraft and putting bigger cargo fairings on it has been going on since the 60s. None are capable of a 300' length, but they're also not far off. I'm not sure what Radias gameplan here is but I'm extremely doubtful they'll be able to spin up a bespoke airframe for this one market before Boeing/Airbus have built a FeverDreaml…
So I’m no expert, but I’m not sure I agree. For one thing, a Dreamlifter is 235 feet long. They’d have to add nearly 100 feet to that before it fit a 300-foot blade. I think that makes it a completely different airplane.
Also I wonder about density — turbine blades are really light, and this Radias seems not to have a huge wingspan. Perhaps it’s optimized specifically for long, low-density cargo. That’s not the market that Boeing or Airbus are going for with their craft.
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#29This makes no sense to my eye.
It's like making a startup to make delivery vans or stretch limos.
There isn't enough economy of scale.
The economically efficient approach would be to do what the military and other manufacturers would do. What Boeing has been doing to the 737 for decades.
Leverage an existing airframe, stretch it, re-engineer what's needed.
Building a bespoke plane, a bespoke plane manufacturer, and all that goes with it is a tall order. Why not fly fed ex packages too? It's just not really specific, or big enough of a market, no?
Re: Gigantic new aircraft design aims to create the largest plane ever to fly
#30> What’s the solution? A Colorado-based energy startup named Radia has an idea. It’s developing the biggest aircraft in aviation history.
It is of course, not the biggest aircraft in aviation history — that honour belongs to the two Hindenburg-class airships, LZ 129 Hindenburg and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin.
It's also shorter than the SpaceX Starship + Super Heavy combo is tall, (356 vs 397 ft), so it wouldn't even be the largest current aircraft. (Arguably a rocket isn't an aircraft, but Starship has large flaps, and Super Heavy has grid fins, so I think they count.)