2024-03-19 23:28:00
(CNN) — There is a global energy crisis and onshore wind farms are a potential growth option. Larger wind turbines produce more energy than normal ones, but their components are too large to be transported by road.
What is the solution? A Colorado-based energy startup called Radia has an idea. It is developing the largest airplane in the history of aviation.
This is the WindRunner plane, whose mission will be to transport giant 90-meter-long blades directly to the wind farms.
To help the world meet its decarbonization goals, it will use sustainable aviation fuel and only need a dirt or gravel runway to land.
It will operate from regional hubs, Radia says, delivering where needed, and “can land on runways as short as 1,800 metres, something no other large commercial aircraft can achieve.”
Where do the pilots go? Just above. (Image: Radia)
Let’s talk regarding specifications
When it comes to transporting the largest payloads ever transported by air, being delicate isn’t enough.
Therefore, the WindRunner will have a cargo volume of 7,700 cubic meters, enough to house three Olympic swimming pools. It is 12 times the volume of a Boeing 747-400 and, at 108 meters in length, it is also 38 meters longer.
As for the span, it is 80 meters: imagine four bowling alleys placed side by side.
It will also dwarf the Antonov An-225, the heaviest aircraft ever built, which was destroyed at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The scale of the aircraft may be revolutionary, but the engineering is not, and that is by design. Radia says it is focusing “on existing technology and safety using, where appropriate, proven FAA-approved aviation materials, components and manufacturing techniques.” [Administración Federal de Aviación de Estados Unidos]that are already being mass produced and that entail the least risk.
The idea is to launch a fast, well-built fleet that meets aerospace industry standards. Online reports talk regarding commercial operations starting in 2027, but no timeline is confirmed on Radia’s website. CNN has contacted the company for comment.
Radia patented a system for loading the blades on the WindRunner. (Image: Radia)
and there it goes
Radia is confident in research organization Bloomberg NEF’s estimate that up to US$10 trillion will be spent on onshore wind energy by 2050. The development of WindRunner will make it possible to manufacture GigaWind, the XXL turbines of Radia’s partners, including five of the six leading turbine manufacturers in the world.
Currently, turbine blades typically measure 70 meters or less, but Radia wants to deploy blades up to 104 meters. The company says GigaWind turbines might be two to three times more powerful and two to three times more cost-effective than current ones.
Who is behind these ambitious claims? The founder and CEO is Mark Lundstrum, a multi-sector entrepreneur and MIT aerospace engineer who founded Radia in 2016. The company says its team of advisors includes former senior officials from Boeing, MIT, Rolls-Royce and the FAA, as well as the former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
It’s an impressive lineup and the decision to focus on existing, secure technology is a smart one. Could we see a WindRunner take off before the end of the decade? Could its peculiar shape one day become as popular as transport planes Beluga XL created by Airbus? Pay attention to the sky.
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