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"I think we could solve our problems more easily through strength of character; but that's always been a commodity in extremely short supply."
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I don't know of an earlier reference to the idea of an electric-powered airplane. Note that this is not a solar-powered plane, as described by John Campbell in The Black Star Passes (also in 1930; see solar-powered aircraft).
The first electric airship was a dirigible powered by electricity:
The Tissandier brothers’ dirigible was the first to be powered by electricity. A 1.5 horsepower Siemens electric motor, turning 180 r.p.m., drove a two-bladed propeller through a reduction gear, producing 26 pounds of thrust (116 newtons). 24 bichromate of potash (potassium bichromate) cells provided electricity for the motor, which propelled the airship at 3 miles per hour (4.8 kilometers per hour).
The airship was 28 meters (91 feet, 10 inches) long with a maximum diameter of 9.2 meters (30 feet, 2 inches). Its gas capacity was 1,060 cubic meters (37,434 cubic feet). The total weight of the airship, with “two excursionists,” instruments and ballast, was 1,240 kilograms (2,734 pounds).
Here's another illustration from the original story:
(Electric plane from 'Synthetic' by Charles Cloukey) Compare to the solar-powered aircraft from The Black Star Passes (1930) by John W. Campbell. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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