The WindRunner aircraft will be 108 meters long, far exceeding the world's longest commercial aircraft, the Boeing 747-8, making it easier to transport wind turbine blades on land.
Design of WindRunner, a giant plane that carries wind turbine blades. Photo: Radia
The massive blades needed for today’s most powerful offshore wind turbines are not easily transported on land, limiting their use. Colorado-based energy startup Radia has proposed a solution: building a giant aircraft to transport wind turbine blades, Interesting Engineering reported on March 15. Called WindRunner, the aircraft promises to revolutionize the renewable energy sector by simplifying the process of transporting turbine blades.
The WindRunner can reach a maximum altitude of 12,500 meters and fly from its center to a location 2,000 kilometers away. The size of the WindRunner dwarfs even the most prominent commercial aircraft.
The aircraft stands 24 metres tall and has a wingspan of 80 metres. At an incredible 108 metres long, it is 32 metres longer than the Boeing 747-8, the world’s longest commercial aircraft. To put that in perspective, the Windrunner is almost as long as an NFL football field. Its impressive dimensions give it a cargo capacity of 8,200 cubic metres – around 12 times that of the Boeing 747-400.
Because of its massive size, WindRunner requires specialized infrastructure. For example, 1,800-meter runways are needed at wind turbine blade manufacturing sites to accommodate takeoffs and landings.
The WindRunner’s primary mission is to transport giant wind turbine blades on land. They can be 45-90 meters long and weigh up to 35 tons. This enormous size makes it difficult for current transportation methods. For offshore wind farms, specialized ships transport the blades. But for onshore wind farms, traditional means of transport cannot carry the blades that are so large.
Mark Lundstrom, Radia’s founder and an MIT-trained rocket scientist, spent seven years working with a team of engineers to improve the WindRunner’s design. In addition to addressing transportation constraints, the aircraft’s capacity paves the way for the development of larger wind turbines on land, which could help realize the full potential of wind power, Lundstrom said.
Radia says the WindRunner could be flying within four years. Lundstrom says the plane’s primary purpose is to accelerate the development of wind power, but it could also be useful for other tasks, including transporting heavy military equipment.
Thu Thao (According to Interesting Engineering )
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