Like a train
this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
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They will do literally anything that’s not on rails to reinvent the train…
Tbf, the NIMBY fuckwads make it difficult to build new train routes
The government really needs to grow some balls and get better with this stuff.
Just draw some lines on a map. Offer everyone 1.3x the value of their house (or however much) and take it off them. For the greater good.
Often you don't even need more property. Just utilize existing rail systems. So much unused or barely used rail in this country.
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Whoops, reinvented trains again.
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I was completely on-board until the word "autonomous". The gliders need at least a supervising crew if they are to fly anywhere near populated areas.
Don't worry. The good folks at Boeing have assured us that it is all perfectly safe.
Tragically, all engineers who dissented have taken their lives.
I'd imagine it will be forced into having a pilot and a co-pilot on board. Between not trusting autonomous to be foolproof and imagining that the ALPA union probably demanding it, I can't imagine they have a choice.
Besides, you think the glider with 10 tons of cargo is going to do well I'm something bad happens to the lead plane? If need be, you'd want a human in that glider to emergency disconnect the tow rope and go land it off in a field or something. It should be able to glide for a very long time. Long enough to talk with ground and set up a good LZ and get emergency services prepped.
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take note urban planners: even in the sky, trains work better
"Aerolane believes it shouldn't be treated much differently by the FAA than regular ol' recreational gliders. It remains to be seen how the FAA will feel about this."
This is an absurd statement as it completely omits the automated part of the towed airplane. Witch is the major point of this project.
And the weight. A recreational glider weighs about 600kg. They want to build one that carries 3 and later 10 tons.
If a recreational glider crashes into a house, it usually does not cause a lot of damage except to the pilot, see here:
https://www.tz.de/welt/niedersachsen-segelflugzeug-stuerzt-wohnhaus-zr-2446316.html
Now make that thing 20times heavier. There is a reason drones are regulated by weight class.
If Boeing passes the bill, why not these guys
The problem is the first part of your question.
I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with less regulation than current consumer drones/rc planes.
Interesting idea, but surely the cost savings are largely pushed forward onto the plane towing all the extra weight?
It's certainly going to use more fuel but presumably less fuel than two separate planes. I really have lots of doubts about towed landings, though.
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Anyone who has read a single NTSB accident report will understand what an insane idea this is.
Elaborate?
You're towing a bunch of cargo into the crash site.
Imagine miraculously surviving the plane crash only to get twatted by a crate full of dildos from the cargo vehicle.
Go on... 🥵
Don't worry, in the event of a malfunction you can just detach the cargo, so now you have two apartment building sized things falling from the sky to completely unpredictable random locations squishing anything they land on top of.
Uh oh, here comes the plane train
i bet landing will find more challenges
It's not a new idea at least, other than the self-landing part. I sincerely hope they will have to employ and pay a proper aircrew to be in charge of a gigantic flying vehicle though.
also don't let Boeing in on the project.
Dont let Boeing know you said that, or you may get a "self inflicted" gunshot wound to the head in your car one day
Wouldn't it require the same amount of energy to get airborn / propaget as any other powered aircraft? Because, like, physics...
More recently, the US Air Mobility Command tried flying one C-17 Globemaster III some 3-6,000 ft (900-1800m) back from another, "surfing" the vortices left in the lead plane's wake – much like ducks flying in formation – and found there were double-digit fuel savings to be gained.
But Texas startup Aerolane says the savings will be much more substantial with purpose-built autonomous cargo gliders connected to the lead plane with a simple tow rope. With no propulsion systems, you save all the weight of engines, motors, fuel or batteries. There'll be no cabin for a pilot, just space for cargo and the autonomous flight control systems that'll run them.
That's while they're in the air. How much extra power will it take to get the whole shebang airborne?
It said "cheaper" not "energy efficient".
Wings are easy, jet engines are hard.
Besides, if you can do it with an electrical locomotive on the ground, the energy conversion to electricity of a power plant should be better than the energy conversion of a jet engine from fuel to movement.
So imo, cheaper seems plausible, energy efficient is a maybe.
Now do boats.
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