Revolutionary friction powered plane - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: matteo_galet
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 12:45:48 pm
content: I just felt the urgent need to inform everyone of you about this "revolutionary" plane that harvests energy from the air friction:https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/business-jet-air-friction-power-2905135/?fbclid=IwAR1uk79-LH4-NT55QOBqA1wKzrvLCMdoFr5Mp3t0BrA-TdLoa1FBqwR_C-MNo.... just... no.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 01:25:13 pm
content: The faster it goes - the faster it goes!From the designers website:https://www.bonikowski.eu/work/eatheroneQuote

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 01:31:47 pm
content: Well at least it's an imaginative spin on the perpetual motion engine...The world would be a boring place if everyone understood the laws of thermodynamics

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 04:56:45 pm
content: "Friction" == "drag".He should tell the gliding community of this revolutionary advance. In the middle of a race some contestents reduce the drag by wiping the splattered insects off the leading edge of the wing - while in flightNow they can add more insects instead

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 05:32:58 pm
content: Note that some power could be generated positively and stored while increasing drag is a necessity (for instance for reducing speed, such as when you use airbrakes), but during a typical flight, that's such a small amount of time that it's probably not worth it.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 06:16:49 pm
content: Old planes used to have small wind turbines on them to generate power for radios and instrumentation, but obviously way less power than the propulsion.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 06:18:59 pm
content: It makes no sense to install a permanent drag increase feature just for those rare occasions when you need air brakes and generate tiny amount of power. During normal operation engines provide plenty of it.If for some reason all your engines shut down (mechanical damage, gremlins, Boeing software bug...) you are still not out of all electrical power generation since airliners have auxiliary power units (a small third or fifth engine, usually tucked away in the tail) that can generate all the electrical power an aircraft needs.If that fails too, there are batteries that can sustain vital functions for ~20 minutes, but long before those are drained, a small windmill will deploy from the fuselage or a wing and generate enough power to run the essential instrumentation and maintain hydraulic pressure for control surfaces as long as the plane maintains about 200+ knots.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2020, 07:23:15 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on March 15, 2020, 05:32:58 pmGlider pilots are extremely well versed in storing energy for later use. They go fast when possible , losing energy proportional to the square of the velocity. Then, at the right moment (e.g. when they are in rising air) theysuddenly climb steeply for a hundred metres or so, converting kinetic energy into potential energy for later use.Such flying is sometime referred to as porpoising along, since it is reminiscent of the way dolphins movements when frolicking.It also considerably surprises powered pilots, who can only cope with flying straight and level

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2020, 03:44:17 am
content: QuoteAnd learn to fly by adding power when they misjudge their turn onto finalLandings are mandatory, take-offs are optional.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2020, 08:56:46 am
content: Quote from: WattsThat on March 16, 2020, 03:44:17 amThat's always worth keeping in mind.Glider pilots are also used to rapidly adjusting when they find another pilot has just occupied the piece of grass they were expecting to use