Comments on: Fuel Cell Powered UAV Completes 23-hour Flight

By: joe daks

joe daks — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:40:03 +0000

I built UAV’s in England 40 years ago and used 50cc Chain saw motors with large wooden propellers and a chicken stick to start the motor, the spy camera was similar to a single photo shot Brownie mounted under belly and we sold these planes to middle East Countries.

We used very thin marine ply covering foam core shaped wings and body of the plane, which were really over sized model Aircraft, things have changed a great deal from the humble radio controlled UAV’s to Fuel Cell Technology…

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:23:33 +0000

Freight, carried by H2 blimps, that use the H2 for fuel as well! Cheaper than rail? perhaps not, but certainly a way to move heavy weights – tanks, guns, into otherwise inaccessible spots if you were to fight a WWII style “Battlefield” war somewhere? More likely handy for installing Wind Turbines wherever in heck you want them! Moving prefab eco, econo, enviro, Survival Shelter homes to remote but favorable locations, and a way to move out of cities’ centres and get back to the land in the coming greatest recession of all times hiding in the troughs of the next economic down cycle, where the dollar is predicted to collapse, and the Yuan expected to take over as “Currency of International Trade” and America goes on a diet, no longer able to command 80% of the world’s resources with a “dead on the water” over-printed dollar!

We will see massive changes, and much that appears hair-brained today will gain astounding practicality, including anything powered with any other than oil, as the Asian fact, and demand from them will have driven oil’s price through the roof! America will be green because America’s oil wells are dry – no other reason! We will embrace fantastic engines such as found in the Fuel cell / electric plane because we will still have Solar, Wind Wave, Tidal, Hydro, and geo-thermal sources at our disposal, and even Nuclear may see a revival, and Electricity will overcome internal combustion in the new age, by force of circumstance, not choice. Expect to see more not less fuel cell technologies, and learn to love it too! It is the future .

By: Benji 4 Hydrogen

Benji 4 Hydrogen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:49:45 +0000

That’s excellent! I used to build UAV’s at a factory in San Diego. The one we built was only 5 pounds and battery powered, but this new hydrogen fuel cell UAV sound awesome. 23 hours! That’s pretty amazing.

By: Larry

Larry — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:22:45 +0000

This would go well with our invisible UAV that we are now flying. It’s the first one has passed several advanced tests and if our visual camo system continues to improve we would have a great solution for many problems.

Our UAV could be scaled to match the power system instead of doing it the other way ’round.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:39:23 +0000

I want one! Of course, you have to actually separate the hydrogen and store it in the tank before using it, unlike our on demand hydrogen generators, but the emissions being pure water is great, and quite planes are important with this use.

They would have to pack some pretty hefty batteries in their if they were going straight electric, so a fuel cell makes sense…