That strikes me as every bit as brilliant as hanging little parasite jet fighters from a B-36. Yeah, you can do it, but what does it accomplish? You’d have to have little refueling drones laid out along the primary drone’s flight path, so you might as well have just used the string of refueling drones to do the mission. 🙂
Yeah, seems like a solution in search of a problem. As the article notes, if the mission requires more time on station, just add more drones.
Kind of interesting they’re using LiPo batteries, DJI is still using LiOn even though high end surface vehicles have been LiPo for awhile now.
Whoops, wrong. Could’ve sworn my 3-year-old Phantom was LiOn. Guess it’s Lithium-Ion-Polymer, not Lithium-Polymer.
For comments on “…why send an aircraft all the way back to its fuel source…?”… scroll this video ahead to 4:40 seconds.
Hydrogen is a better fuel. Particularly when attached to a sub nanoscale backbone of carbon atoms. Storable at room temperature, high energy density etc.
I’m going to call my invention “gasoline”.
So called Lithium Polymer batteries (LiPo) are in fact lithium -ion- polymer batteries. LiPo’s is what most R/C model airplanes use without any cell protection whatsoever. I keep mine in a 7.62 ammunition box with a clamp down lid, in a safe place, outdoors.
Couldn’t you just transfer power via a laser or microwave?
My thought, as well. The NASA Tether Challenge that we hosted at the 2006 X PRIZE Cup demonstrated some pretty nifty power transmission technologies. That was a long time ago. Things have only gotten better.
If the objective is long duration at altitude near a base station, microwave power transfer would seem a likely option.
If the objective is long duration at/near a base station then: Use an aerostat, a tethered balloon. Too simple, I guess,
That strikes me as every bit as brilliant as hanging little parasite jet fighters from a B-36. Yeah, you can do it, but what does it accomplish? You’d have to have little refueling drones laid out along the primary drone’s flight path, so you might as well have just used the string of refueling drones to do the mission. 🙂
Yeah, seems like a solution in search of a problem. As the article notes, if the mission requires more time on station, just add more drones.
Kind of interesting they’re using LiPo batteries, DJI is still using LiOn even though high end surface vehicles have been LiPo for awhile now.
Whoops, wrong. Could’ve sworn my 3-year-old Phantom was LiOn. Guess it’s Lithium-Ion-Polymer, not Lithium-Polymer.
For comments on “…why send an aircraft all the way back to its fuel source…?”… scroll this video ahead to 4:40 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38N5OcZx3ko
Oops, I mean 1:27 seconds.
Hydrogen is a better fuel. Particularly when attached to a sub nanoscale backbone of carbon atoms. Storable at room temperature, high energy density etc.
I’m going to call my invention “gasoline”.
So called Lithium Polymer batteries (LiPo) are in fact lithium -ion- polymer batteries. LiPo’s is what most R/C model airplanes use without any cell protection whatsoever. I keep mine in a 7.62 ammunition box with a clamp down lid, in a safe place, outdoors.
Couldn’t you just transfer power via a laser or microwave?
My thought, as well. The NASA Tether Challenge that we hosted at the 2006 X PRIZE Cup demonstrated some pretty nifty power transmission technologies. That was a long time ago. Things have only gotten better.
If the objective is long duration at altitude near a base station, microwave power transfer would seem a likely option.
If the objective is long duration at/near a base station then: Use an aerostat, a tethered balloon. Too simple, I guess,