Radia Windrunner

[TCABM]

The economics and practicality of this clean sheet design don’t make sense to me.

Delivering the largest, most efficient wind turbines directly to the wind farm

WINDRUNNER RADICALLY EXPANDS THE REACH OF ONSHORE WIND ENERGY

WindRunner is the world’s largest aircraft, specialized to deliver the largest onshore wind turbines

WindRunner | Radia

Delivering the largest, most efficient wind turbines directly to the wind farm.

radia.com

 

[ateamer]

Lol. Is that a joke, or some exercise in designing a website? They’re going to build the biggest - by far - aircraft ever made, with short, low aspect ratio wings, and fly it off of dirt and grass? Is this another Moller scam project?

 

[TCABM]

Lol. Is that a joke, or some exercise in designing a website? They’re going to build the biggest - by far - aircraft ever made, with short, low aspect ratio wings, and fly it off of dirt and grass? Is this another Moller scam project?

Joke enough to be in today’s WSJ, which is what made me go search it out. Apparently the company has raised $104M to date.

 

[ateamer]

Is there anything in the article that isn’t copypasta from the guy’s website?

 

[TCABM]

Dunno. Haven’t really dug into what’s on the website.

 

[robin ardoin]

Joke enough to be in today’s WSJ, which is what made me go search it out. Apparently the company has cajoled from suckers $104M to date.

FIFY

 

[StraightnLevel]

Landing a 160,000 lb jet on 6,000 ft of unprepared desert dirt? I want to see those tires and brakes.

That design doesn't look like it could possibly have a stall speed low enough to approach the stated design goals.

 

[Salty]

I'd short that stock.

 

[david.h]

I don't think it looks too bad for performance. Blades are big, but not too heavy. Looks like a long boxy super guppy. That plane has "tiny" wings for its size but does just fine.

 

[GaryM]

Looks like a spectacular way to increase the carbon footprint of clean, green wind energy.