Drone Race To The Rock
Let Us Set Drone Records!
I have always dreamed of the vehicle that will take my vacation bags from the US to The Rock in about 30 minutes! Back in September 2017, Elon Musk of SpaceX made a surprise announcement to do just that! He announced plans to shuttle passengers around the globe taking them through 7000 to 8000 miles in about 35 minutes! He made his announcement about this radical jump in rocket use as he was presenting his plans to send man to the Moon and Mars.
So instead of just going to Mars or to the Moon with his rockets, he wanted to use the same rockets in competing with airliners for speed by flying folks from the US to Asia or the other side of the globe in a half hour or so!
USA To Asia Is Roughly 8000 Miles Away
Now since you and I do not have deep pockets like Musk does, I say we can try to cross the Pacific or the Atlantic in a less agressive means as Musk's rockets. So...DRONES to the rescue!!? And since drones are still very limited in range per charge or fuel capacity (hybrids), we need to chop the total distance into a few hundred miles per hop!
California To Hawaii Hop
A few quick searches on google maps show that an average straight line hop from California to Hawaii is around 2,500 miles. Our best all-electric, passenger size drones can do only about 500 miles or so! We do have some challenges at improving battery capacity or design on the aircraft to increase range.
Hawaii To Guam Hop
Now this jump is the biggest of the three hops that it would take for our drone to fly from the USA to The Rock. It is around 3,900 miles! But hey, the pioneers of old crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific on rickety old aircraft and laid down the basics for global flights later!
No Guts No Glory!
The Wright Brothers were very excited in the few hundred yards that they flew with their first powered flight. You and I are now dealing with a much better opportunity. Our drones now are doing a few hundred miles per full battery charge! This is exciting!
The Guam To The Rock Hop!
Now in addition to this last hop sounding like a new craze in dancing, the Guam to The Philippines hop is the most laid back at 1500 miles! Now, we could almost do this with a hang glider! : )
So Any Takers?
Which hop would you tackle? Either hop you undertake successfully from this point on will surely put your name and vehicle on the map. You will be famous forever! And hey you could become an overnight celebrity and post your success story right here at WA. I will become one of your followers along with millions. You will become very famous and rich.
The Biggest Hurdle, The Batteries
As the batteries of the present time go through some very remarkable advances in capacity and versatility, we are in a very exciting time indeed as we break barriers with new innovations and inventions.
What is the next revolutionary battery going to be?
Here is one recent news on battery developments. There are more. https://www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets/news/130380-future-batte...
Thanks for stopping by!
Joe Joson
From The Rock In The Tropics
Recent Comments
6
For now I will be happy with my Time Machine. I get on it in Memphis and 24 hours later I have gone to a more modern world with 1970 prices in the magicland of Ukraine.
It is kinda amazing that batteries seem to never advance in technology. They just keep getting more expensive.
Have a great Turkey Day my friend from the Rock.
Hey Buddy!
Batteries are advancing like crazy! Electric Planes are now flying fast and far!
Thanks for dropping by! Ukraine's 1970's prices sound very good. The Philippines could be a close 'relative'.
Joe
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Thought provoking post Joe!
We never know what the next miracle of technology will bring. If the travel time and cost can be drastically cut that would be awesome!
Time will tell.
KyleAnn
Hello KyleAnne!
Technology is moving so fast it is very hard to keep up with new inventions and innovations. What we think is fiction today, becomes reality tomorrow!
Thanks for the feedback and comments!
Joe