| IANAAE (...not an aerospace engineer), but I smell a metric boatload of utterly delusional thinking here. > ...remarkably simple way to slash air cargo costs as much as 65% – by having planes tow autonomous, cargo-carrying gliders behind them, big enough to double, or potentially triple their payload capacity. A 65% cost reduction via tripling the payload would require that costs not increase, no? Are these huge cargo gliders free to purchase/operate/maintain? And hauling them around puts zero additional load on the engines of the air freighter that's towing them, to increase maintenance or fuel costs? > ...payload-carrying gliders were towed toward combat zones in World War 2, full of troops and/or equipment, then released to attempt unpowered landings in the thick of things – with widely variable results, particularly where stone-walled farms were a factor. True, but glider losses due to mishaps (starting with broken tow ropes) were damned high even before they got to the target area. What % of cargo being lost in transit do these folks figure is acceptable, in the modern air freight business? > These "Aerocarts" will be pulled down the runway by the lead plane just like a recreational glider. They'll lift off more or less together... Ask anyone with a pilot's license about this. Especially if he has experience with taxiways at large & busy airports, or with taking off in anything less than picture-perfect weather, or with airplanes that lack "sporty" thrust/weight ratios. > With no propulsion systems, you save all the weight of engines, motors, fuel, ... Even if your towing airplane magically does not need larger engines or more fuel to haul 2x or 3x the weight around - what happens when you land, and the tow plane engages its thrust reversers? |
I think it's a cost reduction vs. shipping that 2x (or 3x) cargo using 2 (or 3) conventional planes, not somehow making it cheaper than a single plane with its normal amount of cargo (or a magic plane with 2x the capacity).
> Are these huge cargo gliders free to purchase/operate/maintain?
No, but they're presumably cheaper in those metrics than running a conventional plane. If it costs $50k to run a single conventional plane, but you can tack on one of these towed gliders and it only costs $15k more, that's cheaper than running 2 conventional planes at $100k.
> And hauling them around puts zero additional load on the engines of the air freighter that's towing them, to increase maintenance or fuel costs?
Certainly this will add a cost, but if the towed glider has essentially zero fuel cost, presumably you still come out ahead. And presumably the glider will have lower maintenance costs, since it lacks engines and presumably other stuff a powered, crewed conventional cargo plane would need.
Totally agree with you on the skepticism around safety and reliability, though.