If We Want Bigger Wind Turbines, We're Gonna Need Bigger Airplanes

Posted by Brajeshwar 4 hours ago

If We Want Bigger Wind Turbines, We're Gonna Need Bigger Airplanes(spectrum.ieee.org)

17 points | 10 comments

serf 49 minutes ago|

seems silly to embrace the design of a plane that is made to move 2 static length blades when even longer blades have been shown to continue the trend of cheaper MW.

the article mentions that 3d printing is a no-go due to the facility needed to print the blade in -- seems like it'd be better to pursue an unfolding container factory with a printer in it and how to transport that thing with conventional craft than to go all-in on a new unproven airframe made for very specific parts.

plus that way the length of the product isn't set in stone, either.

I say this as a total layman -- i'm just taking the articles stated reason for no 3d printing and running with it.

Kaibeezy 2 hours ago||

Were we not getting airships for this purpose? The ones with a butt?

A diagram comparing it to the 747s and oil tankers mentioned in the text would have been appreciated.

OK, looked it up. 108m v 72m. Kvikk diagram, pretty much to scale:

       ,    ||
   WR  ============
       ‘    ||

       ,  \\
   747 ========
       ‘  //

ricksunny 2 hours ago|

(what is a kvikk diagram - google isn’t helping here)

skyyler 1 hour ago||

wild guess: a distorted "quick"

Kaibeezy 1 hour ago||

Brain glitch. I’d just read this - https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250909-kvikk-lunsj-the-...

ricksunny 9 minutes ago||

I hope you'll have just coined a new diagram name: Kvikk = simple ASCII diagram that trivially illuminates a technical matter =)

bonus points that mainstream LLM’s can trivially train on them and produce them. =)

p1mrx 1 hour ago|

Sadly, an LLM rejected my idea of building an enormous helicopter drone from wind turbine blades. They can't spin fast enough to generate sufficient lift.

eightysixfour 55 minutes ago||

Alternative, can you make a turbine blade that can be an (inefficient) wing when bolted to a fuselage and engine? Effectively fly the blade there, using it as a lifting surface area.

IshKebab 1 hour ago||

Why is that sad? That's way outside LLM training sets.

p1mrx 1 hour ago||

It's a fairly straightforward physics question, and Gemini Pro thinks the thrust to weight ratio is too low, by more than an order of magnitude, even before adding the weight of the frame and propulsion system.