4 ms·

Not intermodal containers.

• Animats 7y ago
  Right. Only their special 300lb pods. It takes off vertically on electric props and transitions to horizontal winged flight driven by a fuel-powered prop. That's how they get reasonable range. Several other big drones use that approach, and it seems to work. We may see full-sized aircraft which work like that. NASA has been fooling around with electric VTOL takeoff and transition to winged horizontal flight. Most aircraft which do that transition are mechanical nightmares, like the Osprey. It's starting to look like having a separate VTOL electrical propulsion system can compete with mechanical transition VTOL. It's certainly simpler.
  • redis_mlc 7y ago
    If I was offered a free ride on an Osprey, I'd laugh, then run away as fast as I could.
    • toomuchtodo 7y ago
      Your free ride would still chase you to the crash site.
    • burfog 7y ago
      In the most reasonable civilian use, you couldn't run away. It wouldn't be free either, but it might be covered by health insurance. The V-22 Osprey is ideal for getting you to a trauma center. It could pick you up from the highway, just like a helicopter, but then it has the speed and range to get you where you need to be before it is too late.