A Colorado startup intends to create the world’s largest airplane, paving the way for significant advances in green energy. Radia intends to develop a 356-foot-long four-engine jet to transport wind turbine blades.
The Windrunner would transport the 320-foot blades to onshore wind turbines. The aircraft will be constructed to land on harsh landing strips created in wind farms, and the huge blades, weighing 80,000 pounds, will be withdrawn and placed directly from the aircraft.
Every flight will have two blades. The aerial delivery is important since the large blades cannot be transported by vehicle or train. The turbines with large blades are reported to be significantly more efficient than conventional turbines, which have blades that are 100 feet shorter and can barely fit through highway and railway lines.
The plane will be loaded through a tilt-up nose and supported by various truck-mounted gear systems. It will take up the blades at manufacturing centers and fly them at airliner speeds and altitudes to the wind farms, covering a distance of 1200 miles.
In terms of cargo volume, it is seven times larger than the C-5. It is shown as having four jet engines, although the manufacturer and kind are not mentioned in the specifications.