On Aug 6, 3:16 pm, brtlmj wrote:
There is a fundamental problem with attempting to power an aircraft
with batteries: The propulsion system must not only move the vehicle
forward as it would with an automobile, but it must also
simultaneously maintain the aircraft's altitude;

That is why aircraft engines are so powerful and light; they're
depended-on to fight gravity as well as wind resistance.
Which leads us to the case of airships! They float. They don't
have to work to stay at altitude, they just hang there. Their engines
don't have to hold them up.
But, and it's a big but, since they are so big, they have more
wind resistance than airplanes. Since wind resistance is the log, or
cube? of wind speed, their hull-speeds are quite limited and their
engines remain relatively small as a result.
Enter the less-powerful electric motors! Enter solar photo-
voltaic cells! The big surface area of airships are ideal for mounting
solar arrays. And if you have a cloudy day and don't charge your
batteries up to snuff, well, you will not have to go to ground, as in
an airplane, because you are afloat in your element and you drift with
the breeze for awhile.
Words to the wise about the future of flight. High cheers from
Allen the airshipman