With the advent of electric airplanes, a group of engineers and designers took a radically different path than the “fast, heavy” trend that prevailed in the 20th century.
Using light materials and an exaggeratedly large wingspan they managed to put enough solar panels on the wings to never need to land, especially when high above the clouds. In a plane, altitude is energy storage so through a mix of slow descent and just the right amount of batteries, the cruise goes through each night peacefully.
Travel is a different experience than transport and living a few weeks over the clouds is actually a very nice break from the bleak city life.
No, I’m not. You’re imagining something on a scale at which it can never work at.
It’s a physical impossibility to have a plane the size you’re proposing which would continously recharge itself via solar unless it’s 10-20 American football fields in size. No matter how peak your scifi tech the sun doesn’t output more energy.
Is that the size you’re proposing? How will it work aerodynamically? Would it even be counted as a plane? Well technically it would be exactly a plane, as in a plane, not airplane. A huge plane.
We also have flapping flying droids now, we have drones, etc etc erc but you still don’t see people with a set of flapping wings on their back. Why is that?
Because A) the wings would have to be fucking enormous or B they’d have to have an insane rpm.
Chill travel in the air can work. With blimps. Not solar planes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDIojhOkV4w
So about 20 times the biggest wing area that we currently have? Is this what you are scolding at? Is this your physical impossibility?
What’s the obsession with blimps by the way? If you are afraid by enormous sizes please tell me you have done the calculations there…
Blimps don’t require speed for lift, mr “pro-engineer”. If you want to cruise in the clouds at a chill pace, you’re gonna need a blimp. I’m not too bothered, to be honest.
Ok so scaling blimps up is realistic but planes not, no justification needed. I see, ok, bye.
“No justification needed”?
Bitch, blimps don’t need speed for lift. They achieve lift through having volume. The more volume you have, the less surface area you have relatively.
This is what I’ve been saying the whole time.
You not understanding that makes you saying you’re a “pro-engineer” exceedingly hilarious. Watch the Veritasium video I linked in the first one and you’ll get at least a basic understanding if you don’t suffer from some severe neurodevelopmental issues.
The fact that you assume I don’t understand that obvious fact clears that out that this is not a serious discussion. You think “plane, heavy, need fuel” “blimps cool, lighter than air” and work your calculations from there. I am sad I wasted so much time in it.
The fact that you think I’m assuming is hilarious.
I’m not assuming anything. You’ve demonstrated that you don’t understand these things, but since you don’t understand them, you don’t understand the ignorance you’ve demonstrated. Which is all the more hilarious.
You can’t do any of the math, you can’t reason out anything and you’re just fucking offended that I reminded you reality exists.
Dude. If you’re that much of an arrogant arsehole, you’ll never learn enough to be the genius you’re larping as.
A handegg field is ~5350m2. What fucking plane has a wing top surface that size?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules
That’s the largest wing area I can find. And “wing area” refers to the entire surface of the wing, top and bottom. Solar will never cover more than half (aside from reflected light but building panels on the underside? really?) and the top wing is slightly less than half when you account for the shape needed for lift. The wing area would be around ~1600m2. And half of that would be 800m2.
That’s ~15% of a football field.