Air, Freight News

New giant of the skies could extend windpower worldwide

[ March 18, 2024   //   Chris Lewis ]

Engineers at Colorado-based energy company Radia have unveiled plans for the WindRunner which would be, on many counts, the world’s largest aircraft. The four-engined jet would have a 261ft wingspan and be 356ft long, but what really would set it apart would be its payload volume – 344ft (105m) long, 24ft (7.3m) high and 24ft (7.3m) wide. Its 272,000cu ft (8,200sq m) of volume would dwarf that of the An-124 (41,000cu ft).

WindRunner is being designed with one main purpose in mind – to deliver the largest onshore wind turbines.

The planes designers says that future wind turbine blades are likely to be 100 metres long, whereas road surface transport infrastructure can barely cope with blades 70m long. That would limit locations for the new generation of wind turbine to places accessible by ship.

With its runway requirements of 6,000ft (1,800m) – relatively modest, considering the size of the aircraft – it would be able to operate to semi-prepared runways close to windfarm construction sites.

Tags: Radia