DARPA in search for five-year-mission solar wingship The Pentagon's blue-sky technology office has finally announced the three contenders who will take forward its Vulture project. Counter intuitively, the plan involves no thirsty technology scribblers, nor even shy paparazzi. Rather, the idea is to build a remarkable machine which could do away with the need for certain …
when I suggested airships for this kind of thing. No easier to shoot down than a big flimsy flying wing, cheaper surveillance and easier deployment than satellites, they stay up even without power, can drop guided bombs, etc. Just cover one in solar cells for powering the steering and propulsion etc and yer laffin.
I really, really like the overdue addition of music to the promotional video - before I heard the soundtrack I doubted the Vulture*, but now - I'm sold.
Do you think the final version will come with the huge spotlight shown in the video? It'll be really useful for when I come home late at night and I've forgotten a flashlight.
* Not you guys obviously.
"Just cover one in solar cells for powering the steering and propulsion etc and yer laffin."
Well, no. Helium has a nasty tendency to leak out of an airship's envelope over time, and with the changing temperatures over a 24 hour period it'll be venting gas and dropping ballast to try and maintain a constant altitude. You'd have to bring it back every few days for a refill or it'll be bobbing around the valleys of the Kush half a year into it's mission, looking slightly wrinkly, until some Tuareg pops it so he can do chipmunk impressions.
This heavier than air thing. as the guys above say why ?
The only real reason I can see is may be the air at 100,000 feet is so thin that Helium is not much lighter than the air, so no advantage.
I don't know, but a thought, would a strut made of 'material' be it Kevlar or what I don't know, pumped with Helium, to make it 'stiff' be lighter than a strut made of only Kevlar.
After all, you don't need to make the thing lighter than air, your just trying to save weight, every gram counts.
If you start off heavier than air, you don't need to worry about ballast et all, your just making the structure lighter.
will they be beaming that music to us all. Ouch!
Where do they find a pilot to fly that thing for 5 years? Think of all the food and water he will need, won't that increase the payload? Oh, and at 100000ft the pilot will need a pressure cabin and what about emptying the toilet, better not fly over my house. If he craps on my head I shall get my big concave mirror out and burn some holes in his pressure struts. That'll stop 'em. Ooh sometimes I get really cross.
Technical note: You can't use helium long term for pressurised struts as it leaks through most materials.
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