[saycheese]

Appears to be an idea that's been around before [1] - might be interesting to build a smaller scale one that's explicitly for drone swarms.

[1] http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/these-circular-runways-were-d...

[dingaling]

Re: drones, Flight Refueling in the UK had a target-practice UAV called Falconet in the 1980s that launched from a circular runway.

It rested on a dolly secured by a cable to the central post and whirled around until take-off.

I think a couple of installations were built but most customers chose a more conventional rocket-boosted dolly for straight runways.

[microcolonel]

For fixed-wing drone airports, I feel like you'd have better luck making an inclined runway for landings, and a railgun-assisted runway for takeoff. Given that the biggest challenge is finding clearance at both ends of the run way, it would be nice not to have to find 360° clearance for both takeoff and landing.