Post #3134313
2026-02-12 00:47 UTC
@flaki@flaki.social @alxd@writing.exchange Unfortunately the square cube law says they make the most sense when they're quite large - which makes them a bit more like rockets or other big prestige megaprojects, hard/expensive to prototype and iterate on. It's also kinda late to be trying to stand up a whole new branch of aviation - a lot of the safety environment is pretty well set at this point and there are a lot more hurdles today than in the past.
Just the same there are some really cool projects underway.
Replies (1)
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@jacobcoffin@writing.exchange 2026-02-12 00:55
@flaki@flaki.social @alxd@writing.exchange as for the solar powered part, from what I remember the math is... okay on that. With current panel tech you probably can't run the airship's propulsion just off solar, but airships are actually better suited to electrification than other flying vehicles - planes and helicopters get more efficient as they use up their fuel (less weight) but airships want to maintain a consistent buoyancy and have lift to spare so a battery that stays the same weight makes their job easier