Windrunner: a “propeller” plane with a difference
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Green energy has never been more needed, and wind power is a key means of producing it. Standing over 100 meters tall and with blades weighing several tons and measuring up to 90 meters in length, modern wind turbines dwarf the old ones in size and scale. In some regions of the world, transporting these turbines poses a real logistical challenge. Now, a start-up is developing a new record-breaking aircraft that is set to revolutionize this process.
An increasing number of wind farms are being built around the world, delivering green energy with their huge, state-of-the-art turbines. As you would expect, care must be taken to choose suitable sites for their installation. However, the windiest locations are often some of the most remote, and transporting the turbines’ large components to these sites can be a highly complex process. Many a project has failed due to a lack of adequate road links and to the great distances involved.
Why do wind turbines need to be so large?
The bigger its blades, the more energy a turbine generates. Most turbines measure between 90 and 130 meters in height, with an average rotor diameter of up to 90 meters, and this standard size is set to be increased further. A single rotor blade can weigh up to 35 tons. This may sound heavy, but the lightweight construction of its components means it is actually considered light, particular when you take into account its length. This also explains the particular requirements involved in building the aircraft, namely a long fuselage for transporting turbine components and a comparatively short wingspan.
Flying soccer field
Aerospace company Radia from Boulder, Colorado is the driving force behind this project, which involves designing an aircraft to fit the propellers. Seven years of work have already gone into developing WindRunner, which will be the world’s longest aircraft and boast the largest cargo bay in terms of volume. At 109 meters in length, the plane not only beats the classic giants such as the Boeing 747 (70 meters), the An-124 (69 meters), the A-380 (72 meters) and the An-225 “Mriya” (84 meters), but is also longer than a standard 105-meter soccer field. This undisputed record-breaking aircraft has an opening nose like the legendary An-124 and stands 24 meters tall.
Special construction requirements
The only area where WindRunner does not come out on top is wingspan, with its 78.5 meters trailing the A-380 by a mere meter. The only plane to beat the A-380 in this regard was the Russian-built “Mriya” aircraft destroyed in Ukraine; with an 88-meter wingspan, it was in a class of its own.
However, as already mentioned, WindRunner’s cargo is lightweight in design, meaning the aircraft will not require nearly as much lift as these other giants of the sky. According to Radia, WindRunner will have a maximum payload of around 72 tons. By way of comparison, the An-255 could transport as much as 250 tons of freight, yet, at 8,200 m³, WindRunner’s cargo volume will be almost seven times greater than that of the An-255 and 12 times greater than that of the Boeing 747 freighter.
Radia plans to have WindRunner in production by the end of 2027 and to achieve a range of 2,000 kilometers for the aircraft.
Designed for short and rugged runways
Radia intends to work with established aircraft manufacturers to develop WindRunner, affording it easy access to existing components. With no need to design these components from scratch, the development process will be accelerated.
Suitable runways will be required to enable the aircraft to operate, and there are plans to build an airstrip directly adjacent to the factories where the rotor blades are manufactured to enable them to be loaded directly into the aircraft. WindRunner is designed to take off and land on a runway that is only 1,800-meters long—relatively short compared with those normally used by a typical passenger plane.
Its robust undercarriage, somewhat similar to that of the An-124, will also allow the aircraft to take off and land on semi-prepared airstrips, a definite advantage in some remote regions.
While the main purpose of the enormous aircraft will be to transport rotor blades for wind turbines, the start-up is also considering other uses for WindRunner, including military assignments and general transportation of outsized (though not overweight) cargo.
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