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I was peripherally involved with a similar project a few years ago. They got bought out by Facebook. This was before Aquila. There’s a good reason why most air
by creyes12345 3y ago
I was peripherally involved with a similar project a few years ago. They got bought out by Facebook. This was before Aquila.
There’s a good reason why most airplanes look and behave alike: because it works. Technology choices like flying wings (not used here) or twisting wings (used here) are a “code smell” to my computer programmer nose. To me, nothing is sexier than good reliable technology that works. Smart investors will know that. The other ones will do you a favor by staying away.
The use of batteries to maintain altitude at night is a big concern. Batteries are heavy and will dramatically cut down on the usable payload. They need to be maintained warm (but not too warm!), which is a challenge at the low ambient temperatures the aircraft will experience while flying.
Most airplane accidents happen during take-off and landing. Please do not shortchange these phases of flight, and good luck.
- actinium226 3y agoTo be fair, the Wright Flyer used twisting wings. Ailerons took over, but it's not like twisting wings are some low TRL thing.
- creyes12345 3y agoThe Wright brothers were incredible engineers, and a twisting wing made sense for their design. For high efficiency, a stiff wing is a must. Nowadays active stability systems make more designs practical. But the mission goals here favor low weight and reliability.
- BWStearns 3y agoAlso the Wright bros’ litigiousness over their IP was a main driver of the effective extinction of wing warping and the rise of ailerons rather than strictly engineering concerns. I imagine with newer materials wing warping could be pretty effective.
- cyrieln 3y agoLow weight and high aerodynamic efficiency are crucial. You naturally end up with high aspect-ratio wings which tend to be more flexible than conventional aircraft wings. In order to keep aero-elastic effects under control, multiple tailplanes can help to stabilize the structure, and provide roll control at the same time - we’re not set on this technology though, ultimately our analysis tooling will drive this design decision. Batteries are heavy, but if you want to conduct long endurance flights - greater than a few days, then realistically they are the best option.
- razeh 3y agoWhat are the alternatives to batteries if you want to fly through the night?