My guess (which I repeat is just a guess) is that it doesn't store any fuel at all (excepting some amount for emergencies) but relies on beamed power from the ground.
A fully-fueled 747 weighs something like 5x an empty 747 so you might get some real efficiencies from not having any at all. Plus, this would give all those solar and windfarms in (literal) flyover country a nice place to sell their power without running lines.
You can launch with a sled or some crazy version of an extension cord.
My guess (which I repeat is just a guess) is that it doesn't store any fuel at all (excepting some amount for emergencies) but relies on beamed power from the ground.
A fully-fueled 747 weighs something like 5x an empty 747 so you might get some real efficiencies from not having any at all.
That would be frickin amazing. For cargo flights, especially. Something like that could reduce the cost of air freight by a huge factor.
Comments
My guess (which I repeat is just a guess) is that it doesn't store any fuel at all (excepting some amount for emergencies) but relies on beamed power from the ground.
A fully-fueled 747 weighs something like 5x an empty 747 so you might get some real efficiencies from not having any at all. Plus, this would give all those solar and windfarms in (literal) flyover country a nice place to sell their power without running lines.
You can launch with a sled or some crazy version of an extension cord.
My guess (which I repeat is just a guess) is that it doesn't store any fuel at all (excepting some amount for emergencies) but relies on beamed power from the ground.
A fully-fueled 747 weighs something like 5x an empty 747 so you might get some real efficiencies from not having any at all.
That would be frickin amazing. For cargo flights, especially. Something like that could reduce the cost of air freight by a huge factor.