All that wasted energy from a Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 747 taking off in Hong Kong
The exhaust of an engine, or jet blast, can be extremely powerful. Everyday planes all over the world create powerful wind gusts when putting their engines on full throttle to take off. Could that wind ever be harnessed to create “green” energy?
US industrial designer Richard Hales thinks maybe we can. He has worked out some ideas on how to possibly capture this energy, but is the first to admit he is not an engineer. ’œI have received numerous ideas from individuals in the wind energy industry but as I am a general design consultant and not an engineer, with limited experience in wind energy, I have to rely on others to assist me in the final design of the product which would include the amount of electricity that possibly could be created,’ Hale says.
The project, called FreeWind, is a reinforced unit that contains a wind turbine, flywheel and generator. Multiple units could be used in the same location to harness all the potential wind energy.
Hales has talked with representatives from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, where he is based, and they seem interested. ’œThe three persons I met with were impressed with the idea,’ he recounts. ’œHowever, there was nothing they could do unless I produced a working prototype for evaluation by the City of Phoenix. Since I was not able to afford the construction of a prototype, the idea remained undeveloped for over a year.”
Hales has secured a provisional US patent for his idea and is now trying to find partners and funding to be able to build a prototype and prove his concept. “I am looking for a university, engineering firm or group with the knowledge and creative strength to share in the development of the FreeWind concept to make it a reality, ” Hales said. Some have outright told him that his idea is crazy, but Hales is determined to see if his concept could work.
I would like to see this concept explored, but there are some challenges. The winds coming from jet blast can reach up to 300 MPH and it would take a strong unit to handle those winds. However, this concept could provide green energy for airports and make some use of energy that is mostly wasted.
If you have any questions or suggestions for Hales, you can either leave a comment or email him directly.
UPDATE: I spoke with Hales and my photo used might be a bit mis-leading. The FAA won’t allow anything to obstruct the flight path of an aircraft, so the turbines would be set up perpendicular to the runway to get the thrust of a waiting aircraft.
Cheers! Me on Horizon Air this last weekend flying to Reno (review coming soon).
In 11 days I will be celebrating two years of writing this blog. A lot has changed since then and it has been an awesome ride. I have loved being able to share my passion for airlines and aviation and it seems some of you enjoy it too. Today marks a big milestone for my life and for the blog and I hope it all works out for the best.
On top of writing the blog, I have been working at a 40 hours per week job. It has been difficult to juggle both (on top of other stuff in everyday life), but very worth it. An opportunity came up recenty where I am able to only work 20hrs per week until September 1st, where I go to 30hrs per week after that and I took it!
I will be selling my car, tightening my belt on expenses, but I am willing to do so to make a serious effort on this blog. I hope to provide more and better content and have more time to do some pretty cool stuff (ie get a ride in a Beechcraft Starship).
As always, if you have any suggestions about making revenue, blog ideas or anything, please feel free to contact me.
I am very excited and look forward to bringing more unique content for the blog!
I constantly hear people say, “flying just isn’t the way it used to be.” Sure it isn’t, less food, more fees, but there are also lower fares. One service that we have seen a big decline in is food service. We have gone from getting a free meal to feeling lucky to have some free peanuts. Brett Snyder, who writes the blog CrankyFlier, took a look at the cost per passengers airlines spent in 1990 versus today and he found some pretty interesting things.
United Airlines ends up spending the most (probably from First Class) and Southwest ends up spending the least (is that a shocker?). I am actually kind of surprised that average costs haven’t decreased more since the 1990’s.
Photo from NASA's Terra satellite in 2007, showing a cloud bank riddled with canals and hole punches. State boundaries are shown in blue.
Airplanes can do some pretty awesome things, but did you know they can make it rain? I am not talking about special research aircraft sent up to “seed” the clouds, I am talking about everyday airliners that can make it rain and punch holes into the sky.
We all learned in science class that water freezes at 32 degrees. However, droplets that make up clouds can be as cold as -35 degrees F. When an airliner flies through the cloud, the temperature will drop, causing the droplets to freeze. When the droplets freeze, they fall to the ground as snow or rain, leaving a big hole in the cloud.
This doesn’t happen each time a plane flies through a cloud, the conditions must be just right. Turboprops are more likely to produce to effect versus jets, because they fly at lower altitudes and they do not have hotter jet engines, allowing the air to cool even more.
Most of the time as an airplane goes through the sweet-spot a hole is made, but sometimes the airplane is able to continue in that sweet spot and form “canal clouds.”
So next time you are on the ground and get a short rain or snow fall, take a look up, it could have been caused by an airline.
This classic 1958 video sells Pan Am’s new jet service. Does this make you think about the “good old days?” Well think how much those tickets cost and I bet a new Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 is more comfortable. Plus there was no Wi-Fi back then!
