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"In this video we are going to explore solar aircraft. Contrary to the popular belief, electric aircraft have been around for nearly 50 years, thanks to Solar
by gardenfelder 3y ago
"In this video we are going to explore solar aircraft. Contrary to the popular belief, electric aircraft have been around for nearly 50 years, thanks to Solar photovoltaics."
- verisimi 3y agoHow long have satellites been around?
- perilunar 3y agoElectric aircraft have been around for just on 140 years: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/tissandier-electric-airship/ https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/tissandier-electric-ai... An electric airship covered with thin-film photovoltaic cells could fly indefinitely, with a range limited only by maintenance and crew.
- simbolit 3y agoI'd argue that an electrically-powered gas-filled airship is more of a hybrid, as the helium/hydrogen does all the lifting..... but damn, that's very cool! This is before AC motors were even a thing, and the Siemens DC motor they were using was the highest of high-tech in existence at the time.
- perilunar 3y agoAn airship is still an aircraft, but not an airplane. Btw, this was a hydrogen filled airship — helium wasn't discovered yet!
- simbolit 3y agoOf course it's not an airplane. What gave you the impression I thought that? I was saying the helium does a lot of the work, so I am not sure if I'd call it a fully "electric aircraft", it seems more like a "hybrid aircraft", to use modern terminology.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]