Five Incredible Theoretical Aircraft

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[@anarchyantz1564]

Simon: The Sun is a natural and free resource for all! Nestle: We don't think the Sun is a basic human right....

[@Sideprojects]

Allegedly.

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@Sideprojects In my opinion.

[@fnfdmgjfndf]

Some argue.

[@guidokorber2866]

The German government did actually implement this a couple years ago: If you have photovoltaics above a certain size for your own use, you have to pay for the electricity you generated and used yourself.

[@jeffreyhill1011]

@@guidokorber2866 is this still a thing? I'm in the US so it doesn't really matter but I have close to 100 panels lol. I power my almost 6,000 (almost 558 m² give or take) sq ft, 5 bedroom 4 bathroom all electric home with them and the lighting and climate control for the two 7,000sqft (650 m²) workshops on my 6300 acres (2550 hectares) property. I would owe the government a TON of money!

[@huwday1131]

Regarding spaceplanes, the most realistic design I've seen to date is Reaction Engines' Skylon, powered by their Sabre engine (simplistically put, a hybrid of a jet and rocket engine). The Sabre engine is in development and has passed it's most recent set of design goals (mostly fixated around the pre-cooler). It's definitely a work in progress, but a very promising one.

[@matthewmartin5763]

Yes! I wanted to recommend this for a future video. Such a cool concept. Also, it's a British design. Which is neat.

[@thefourshowflip]

I’m honestly shocked the researcher team didn’t dig this up…I was sure they’d have found out about it. It’s been running over a decade and relatively recent successful tests on the engine

[@Clickathon]

Surprising there was no mention considering investment from big names and they are working on the Tempest 6th gen fighter jet

[@thefourshowflip]

@@Clickathon I’m still excited about that successful preburner test they announced at the end of September 2021 😊

[@steveclarke6257]

Electrical energy- There is an advantage for solar collection by aircraft; its much more efficient at altitude to collect if only because it's above low cloud.

[@Brandon-dy8us]

We landed on the moon 66 years after the first plane was made. Do you know how insane it is how fast we advanced compared to the rest of the human timeline?

[@greenanubis]

Yeah, most people are aware of that. And they are scared shitless that gods/space wizards will smite us for our arrogance, lol.

[@adambartlett114]

@@greenanubis Meh, aware, yes... Scared shitless, not remotely... I don't worry about stuff that isn't going to happen & isn't based on reality. Also, the answer to op is simple, knowledge & technology is an exponential growth situation. It's why that is we survive long enough, it's entirely probable that we could be the generation that defeats death. We just have to avoid killing ourselves with multiple suicidal booby traps we've created for ourselves. That is probably the more difficult task, than defeating death. You've no idea how many ticking time bombs we've created all over the planet... Frankly, there's still a pretty strong chance that between trump & covid, it may already be too late to stop the burning fuse.

[@echothebm]

War is one Hell of an insentive to Inovate. ;). (Multiple wars even more)

[@popuptoaster]

Yes, that's what happens when you throw large amounts of money and manpower at a problem.

[@akizeta]

Logistic curve, happens all the time. Starts off like an exponential curve, then reaches a limit and levels off. The SR-71 was built 60 years ago, and hasn't been improved on as far as going fast is concerned. The Russian R-7 rocket they use today to launch Soyuz is essentially the same as the one used to launch Sputnik in 1957. SpaceX's reusable rockets owe a lot to the logistic curve of computing's progress, which is showing signs of levelling off soon. Next big advance in rocketry might come when we figure fusion out, but don't hold your breath.

[@ihatemegatron216]

To the writer of this video. Thank you for acknowledging the existence of the ace combat series. It's nice to know someone other than me enjoys the series.

[@stickplayer2]

Minor correction: The Hindenburg was not "powered by hydrogen". It was powered by 4 diesel engines. it was made bouyant by hydrogen.

[@echothebm]

And theoretically it's demise was coused by Static electricity (just one of several Theories)

[@three6nine992]

And it was its "skin" that made it burn so horrificly....

[@jeffreyhill1011]

@@three6nine992 well to be fair the giant balloon of hydrogen (maybe 3 balloons I can't remember how it was assembled I just know the US wouldn't sell helium so they used hydrogen) didn't help, the skin was just flammable AND a great conductor of static electricity!

[@matsv201]

Well.. that is ... partly not true. Sort of. A diesel engine is a type of engine, its not locked in to a specific fuel. The diesel engines on Hindenburg was multi fuel, they could be powered by diesel-oil, but mostly they was powered by something called blue-gas. A gas that is a mixture of different flammable gases that have a density of about the same as air. This way a couple of bags in side of Hindenburg was filled with bluegas in steed of hydrogen. The reason for it was to not get the airship more and more boyant after it burned of diesel. Now some airships (i don´t know if this is true for hindenburg) also burned diesel-oil mixed with hydrogen, in that case, simply selecting between diesel and hydrogen to increase or decrease the buoyancy... If that is true specifically for hindenburg, im not sure, but it might be.

[@freddan6fly]

@@three6nine992 "And it was its "skin" that made it burn so horrificly...." - nope it was the hydrogen that burned.

[@tenhirankei]

@9:00 Let's not forget that the batteries involved have to be manufactured and unless that process is also addressed to make it "green", it will create its own carbon footprint.

[@RHCole]

Existing creates a carbon footprint. Carbon footprints are unavoidable. It's how we deal with making them that matters.

[@dr4d1s]

You are very right and there are a couple companies already working on or have a working a process of recycling the lithium and cobalt out of used batteries and using them in new batteries.

[@wolfenwingsable]

Also have to account that they want pretty much want every vehicle to be electric with an already pretty much limited supply of resources.

[@wolfenwingsable]

At least fpr electrics

[@hernerweisenberg7052]

@@wolfenwingsable Resources are allways limited, no matter the means of propulsion :D

[@hyrize3797]

I life in Germany and some years ago the Bundeswehr practiced with Eurofighters and hit the soundbarrier. This was by far the loudest boom or even sound i heard in my entire life, all of our windows had been wiggeling. At first we tought a biogas plant near our town had exploded, fortunately not but there was quite some trouble in our town . I would really like to hear a sonicboom again. I‘m a simple man, i like booms :D

[@dr4d1s]

Simon, I am glad you actually went into detail with Hydrogen. Most KZbin videos are like "Its the best thing ever!" (in fairness it is really cool) but they never talk about the challenges/limitations of actually working with Hydrogen or of the production of Hydrogen fuel and the insane amount of electricity it takes to make it. Good on you man, keep up the great work!

[@enisra_bowman]

yeah, when some talk about hydrogen and the future, they forget quiete a few things: like that most come from coal aka. fossil carbon-hydrogen or that burning only produce "just water" in a pure Oxygen atmosphere, but to dumb that our is also mostly filled with nitrogen and burned with nitrogen produces some other unhealthy stuff Or that the efficency is in the best case about 25% and it's better to store excessive energy from renewable sorces by heating up stones and use that as a "battery"

[@riccardosartori3822]

He failed to mention that the current hydrogen cars are not using ICEs but fuel cells

[@anarchyantz1564]

Physics Girl who I used to respect, did a three part series when she "left" PBS to go it alone sponsored by Toyota and their Hydrogen powered car. Unlike everything she has ever done in the past the entire thing was 99.9% an Advert about the car and how wonderful Toyota are. Made it out that oh yeah look I just happened to come to the fuelling station for it and look at all these other Hydrogen powered cars there are....Riiiiight. Actually unsubscribed after being a fan of hers since almost day one due to basically being a sell out. Was expecting an unbiased show of the tech, the limitations etc but no. I lost count of how many times she mentioned the car name and Toyota just within the first 10 minutes.

[@crinkly.love-stick]

@@riccardosartori3822 I thought fuel cells were, well, fuel cells? A gas tank, by another name.

[@riccardosartori3822]

@@crinkly.love-stick no, they are a place where a controlled chemical reaction takes place, so technically they are "combustion" meaning they use an oxidation reaction to produce power but they are not conventional ICE's. In short a fuel cell produces electricity through a controlled chemical reaction, said electricity is then provided either to batteries or directly to electric motors.

[@Dan-zq8dz]

12:34 - Hydrogen on its own is not flammable; it needs to mix with another gas, (oxygen or chlorine for example), though it doesn't need much. In WWI when British fighters attacked Zeppelins with regular incendiary ammo, it had no effect. The small holes created didn't let in enough air to mix with the hydrogen in any effective way. Even when they started using the new Brock/Pomeroy 'explosive-incendiary' ammo, they still had to concentrate their fire fire in one spot, rather than strafe the airship. With regards to the video; I won't get excited until we have autonomous, supersonic Zeppelins.

[@NeverlostatBSgaming]

“And the occasional wedding” big oof

[@luisblanco1851]

*Obama wants to know your location*

[@jeramysteve3394]

Barrack obomba

[@juanitwo66]

@@jeramysteve3394 🤣

[@FOH45]

😂😂

[@murraywebster1228]

Was Lucky enough to fly Concorde to New York, really a once in a lifetime experience

[@michaelpipkin9942]

I always wanted to feel the thrust on take off.

[@murraywebster1228]

@@michaelpipkin9942 steep, that’s what I remember most, it got way up there real fast

[@philasandemchunu3229]

Bro I'm from South Africa, and I love ur content.continue doing great work.🙌

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Can you do the history of The Thunderbirds? The aircraft are always evolving, the history is decades long, tragic, and some of the most skillful pilots in the world entertain millions. Thanks from Nellis AFB, home of The Thunderbirds!

[@kingjellybean9795]

I thought you were talking about the kids TV show

[@ColinMontgomeryCDN]

Simon, it was interesting to find out what the avation industry is doing to reduce their environmental footprint. I would love to see a sideproject video of what the marine shipping industry is doing to reduce their carbon footprint. Cheers.

[@Boomkokogamez]

There are some ships that have a rotating pole on them and somehow it reduce fuel consumption...

[@Kitty-oy5nj]

The only thing they can do, is serve full vegetarian meals, face it, planes need fuel, fuel comes from black oil from 5km underground. So unless you can fly on methane or ammonia , they can just plant more palm trees at airports.

[@JonMartinYXD]

@@Boomkokogamez They're called Flettner Rotors, named after the brilliant German inventor Anton Flettner. They work via the Magnus effect, which is explained nicely in this Veritasium video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIC2o6mwg7xsfKc

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:05 - Chapter 1 - Drones/Uavs 6:00 - Chapter 2 - Solar powered aircraft 9:15 - Chapter 3 - Hydrogen powered aircraft 13:45 - Chapter 4 - Quiet supersonic aircraft 16:25 - Chapter 5 - Space planes 19:10 - Chapter 6 - Skies unknown

[@shawnnewell4541]

Oh, they didn't just test Sonic jets over Oklahoma City. They did it over my hometown of Seattle, too. I remember jumping out of my skin when I first heard one. My mom and her friends didn't like that this would disturb our naps.

[@laurendoe168]

Over 50 years ago, Star Trek TOS episode "A Taste of Armageddon" covered the topic of what happens when wars get too easy to fight. (There was more to it than that... but that was the premise).

[@AndrewChilders]

If not yet covered, a mega project video could be the fortification of the West Coast using Nike missiles or the fortification of San Francisco Bay using four planned, three constructed, forts: Fort Point, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and a fourth on the southern end of the Marin Headlands. Each was intended to have enough Rodman and Parrot guns to sink a ship despite their individual 5% chance of success. In addition, smaller fortified areas were to have artillery to assist. The abysmal accuracy of these guns was so low, volleys from Alcatraz, Fort Point, and Angel Island could not strike a ship laden with fireworks during a Fourth of July event. A rowboat was sent out with a torch to be thrown onboard to set off the explosives. The Rodmans and Parrots were eventually replaced with rifled artillery, reducing dozens of guns to an extreme few, but with a substantial accuracy boost. These held place until the Cold War, during which much of the northern and southern West Coast had hidden and visible missile sites installed, capable of being launched at a moments notice. According to a story from my grandparents, they flew in a leisure plane with a friend one day, too close to Fort Funston. So close, in fact, a surface-to-air missile unit tracked the plane across the sky.

[@LadyAnuB]

Scary but not likely to get a missile shot at you as the leisure plane's speed was far from a missile's.

[@wills2140]

Simon, the "commercialization of space" began a couple of years ago - Starlink satellites ( and the three "space tour" companies currently flying ). Good thinking points, thank you! ☺

[@stevekirkham2573]

The Russians will fly you to the ISS for a cool $20 million.

[@wills2140]

When they can do it in a single stage to orbit spaceplane, I will think about buying a ticket. (;

[@ernestbywater411]

One of the issues with new style airplanes is many people want the same speed as current jet planes. However, a valid alternative not being pushed hard is the use of dirigibles with electric motors because of the slower speed they have, despite the fact the top and sides could be covered with solar panels,

[@vindictaetmortem748]

No one but a curious tourist would utilize a derigible... you can drive anywhere faster than a lighter than air vehicle can fly. It's pointless.

[@coloradomountainman8659]

As a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's, I often heard sonic booms. No love lost there with their demise over residential areas.

[@kltolv7412]

As far as space planes go the Skylon is about the best we have so far. Its a fascinating concept and their sabre air breathing rocket engine successfully proved the technology of the pre cooler many years ago. It cools incoming air by 1000c in about 0.01 seconds and without generating any icing, its pretty incredible stuff!

[@geedon1]

Yes I thought he was going to talk about sabre from reaction engines as it’s well on its way now

[@Chris.Davies]

How can a non-existent thing be "the best we have so far"? Mind-boggling garbage. They have never tested their RBCC engine, and only the DoD in the USA has funded their intercooler tech. They have no money to even begin building Skylon. Until they do, all they have is a patent, a cooler, and wank fantasies. Skylon could never be launched (or land) from a conventional runway, and so an entire spaceport would need to be created for it. Come back to us when they have funding for everything.

[@kltolv7412]

If we don't have any SSTOs then the best we have so far will always be a work in progress rather than a completed project. Nothing ever appears in a finished state without a development period first, and in the overwhelming majority of cases a project does not wait for complete funding before starting. It is the norm for a project to underestimate the true cost and time of completion even if funding is readily available. Great leaps ahead require much optimism and risk from those involved or they would never be undertaken. It is entirely possible that Skylon will not succeed, but that should not stop them attempting it, because lessons would still be learnt and new technology has already emerged from it which may be critical in a future, successful design.

[@zeke7237]

Rather than SSTO, a rocket-launched semi-ballistic system would allow you to get anywhere on the globe in 90 minutes or so. Boost for a bit then coast to the other end. See Robert Heinlein's "Friday" for an example of the concept as well as the potential issues, such as the need to clear a corridor to the landing site and keep it clear.

[@VosperCDN]

All talk about autonomous robotics always comes back to Skynet ... especially when it's something from Boston Dynamics.

[@ProbablyElliott]

Great video overall, I am a bit surprised that the SABRE engine was not covered as its designed to be a combination of a jet engine and a rocket engine, which could mean break throughs in SSTO tech

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Wonder how a scram jets will work. You don't want the scram to cut out, and have no backup.

[@SephirothRyu]

Simon: **mentions Ace Combat 7** *Arsenal Bird wants to know your location.

[@ozwolf01]

So cover the massive amount of unused roof and ground space at airports with solar panels to power the hydrogen refineries that fuel the eventual silent supersonic spaceplanes. Seems doable.

[@surferdude4487]

I had the same thought. They could also produce methane for jet fuel. It's a lot easier to handle and store. The entire process would be carbon neutral if the fuel is produced using carbon capture technology. Of course, the oil industry will hate it because it would make jet fuel practically free.

[@DrewNelles]

Regarding SSTO, you might check out McDonnell Douglas’s (later bought out by Boeing) 1990’s Delta Clipper programme. As I recall it was ultimately shut down as they had troubles with getting light enough materials for the fuel tank and they were having troubles nailing the vertical landing (VL) required. Elon Musk seems to have nailed the VL since then, and it has been 30 years on since the tank materials were looked at, so there may be some ideas easily revived. Enjoyed the show.

[@pmgn8444]

Killer drones? They have existed since WWII - in the form of acoustic homing torpedoes. Fire them and they hunt down their target. Same goes with infrared (IR) homing missiles like the AIM-9 Sidewinder. It entered service in 1956. The current killer drones just have better computer guidance systems and can loiter in an area for minutes to hours (and maybe days?).

[@arieldahl]

there is a world of difference between guided missiles, and loitering bombs/drones that choose their targets autonomously. even the most crude of radar homing missiles who chase the largest blip that they see- need an operator to let them loose. modern loitering air defense suppression, may lay in the gray area in the middle, but things along a spectrum don't negate the existence of the difference between both ends of said spectrum

[@Rufrky]

16:25 - Ah, I see you are a fellow comrade of culture. From his video on The Hindenburg referencing the Kirov, now to quoting Premier Cherdenko in this one.

[@aFiliandsomejoe]

The X15 may be officially the fastest plane in existence, but... Do you REALLY believe we haven't developed anything faster in the last 55 years?! UFO's my backside! HA! It took just 60 years to go from a paper airplane with a prop that could barely fly to mach 5+. I'm pretty sure we've come up with some stuff in the last 60 years.

[@mangogo44]

As someone who works in an aviation industry I don't believe planes will ever fly on batteries...

[@mangogo44]

Today I found out that there's 17 people crew working on "Today I Found Out". I wonder how many people work with/for Simon in total? 🤔

[@TheKalaxis]

Anyone else think of the "Do you want Skynet? Because that's how you get Skynet" meme after that first entry?

[@rowanshole]

Hi Simon. Kaman Corp (maker of electric guitars!) made the first electric drone (1953), and the first remotely piloted helicopter, the HTK-1K also in 1953. Kaman is a company of firsts including counter rotating intermeshed rotors (k-125 helicopter- 1947) 1st turbine helicopter (1951) and twin turbine (1954). The company might make a good episode. They were well advanced on thinking about uav seeing them as important in firefighting, rescue and resupply.

[@24934637]

You are VERY right about the human component being the weak link in a modern combat aircraft! I've experienced 6+g and -3, and both are incredibly unpleasant, I hate to think what 9g would feel like especially while doing something that takes skill and coordination such as being in control of a plane!

[@bjaymac1712]

I assume Jen put that Futurama clip in. Thank you. I enjoyed it so much. On top on simons always great work. ❤

[@ross.venner]

13:52 - Concord, I vividly remember sailing quietly across the English Channel, then... Boom Boom and a distant roar.

[@RaijuFiction]

My inner nerd loved this video, Simon! I'm going to force my boss to watch it. He'll love it, too. The company I work for invented and currently produces unmanned helicopters for anything from military application to search and rescue missions (it was also used to battle all those wildfires on the west coast this year). That's merely one cool thing the company does. Another thing I can confirm, because I'm actually inspecting parts for them as I listened to this, is Blue Origin (Bezos) and Musk are both creating and heavily testing "commercial spacecraft" technology. While I can't disclose specific project names, when my company gets an order from a company, we often ask what the purchase is for, so I get to see where the parts are going as well as how much they cost (hoooooly smokes, the amount of money these guys just blow up for the sake of science). While I THINK these parts are just going to the starlink satellites and the umm...rocket... I wonder if they are in the works for spacecraft that can carry more passengers or more cargo or something 🤔 I really hope they succeed. It's the best feeling to know "I made and inspected parts on that thing" as you see something successfully take off into the sky. That's one of the reasons I love my job so much.

[@SenorGato237]

That Tim Curry in RA3 reference was excellent comrade.

[@patrickhasachannel]

my aunt & uncle got to be on a Concorde flight back in the 1990s and I'm jealous to this day

[@aceundead4750]

Thought he was gonna say "go to a wedding" as the answer to "what do you do when being hunted by a robot?" Just as a little call back to the joke earlier.

[@tevvya]

There are two areas you did not mention. 1. Drones which are used for cargo deliveries. These not only offer possibilities for convenience but for deliveries of life-saving drugs and equipment to difficult-to-reach areas. 2. Aviation on Mars and other solar system bodies which have atmospheres. One has already been tested on Mars!

[@marcofabiocarosi2996]

Brilliant as most of your videos. I confess I’m having kind of crush on your work!

[@bobpawtucket1336]

The 1950's Aircraft Reactor Experiment was primarily motivated by the compact size that the molten salt reactor (MSR) offers, and time will most likely see its use in future aircraft.

[@msk806]

Reference "the moon is a harsh mistress" electromagnetic propulsion

[@orionpowell9671]

If you haven't already done one, I'd be interested to see a video on the concept of Scram propulsion

[@robertgraybeard3750]

Simon --- a possible future passenger aircraft is the BWB - blended wing-body, i.e., NASA's X-48 (and X-48B, X-48C) with excellent fuel economy.

[@matthewthompson8691]

Love aviation. Love Simon. Love it.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Regarding the Drones, at this rate I am picturing them scoping out gamers for pilots for them eventually rather than actual pilots

[@2009rummell]

Certain parts of the military already do that. And they use Xbox controllers on some things since younger people are so used to them

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@2009rummell I know some of the hashed together rebels in Afghan were using playstation controllers and a tv to control their tanks and apcs

[@danandbaggyshow]

As always Simon a great video

[@paulconnelly9206]

Great Video. In the sci-if world I was always tickled pink by Peter F Hamilton and story universe where man had finally achieved the goal of travelling to and landing people on Mars, When behind a rock came two earth based scientists who had created a worm hole and simple stepped through onto mars… Hillarious

[@bordmike]

Thanks for the video it was great

[@larry40]

Listening to this in bed with my headphones on and almost asleep when the scream almost made me piss myself thanx Simon lol!!!!!

[@williamchamberlain2263]

1:35 first RC drone; 21 March _1917_ with a de Haviland monoplane launched from the back of a truck using compressed air.

[@Four9sFineJewelry]

Oh my god, PLEASE have a, “buddum tiss” moment in all of your videos and channels.

[@NotHPotter]

"They're just robots" Simon says, a commit which will ensure he gets the wall when the machines rise up.

[@dudepool7530]

"What to do if you're being hunted by a robot. The answer is: Get down" *Strikes a disco pose* I'm ready ya jive metal turkeys!

[@aurorajones8481]

5:01 Manpower is a huge war resource that needs to be fed just like all the other assets such as bullets, bombs, planes, missiles...MANPOWER!

[@falxgod6848]

There were 2 viable/working concepts for SSTOs. Cryslers Serv and a Japanese one which I forgot the name of but was named after the first Japanese steam warship. They never got past concept but the concept was sound.

[@zachsmith8633]

I love the video but am also loving the huge list of Simons channels

[@General_Flores]

Love you more for that AC7 name drop simon... makes me wanna chug some Rotting Turtle EDIT: Oooh just got to the end and saw the second AC7 drop with that "Skies Unknown" End transition. Mah boy simon

[@zaphodb777]

And yet no one seems interested in sub-orbital ballistic planes. They only need enough speed, easily obtainable in atmosphere, to cannonball to the area of the destination. During the upper part, or coast phase of the flight they are weightless, in space (no drag), but far below orbital velocity. When they re-enter they resume flying as jets until they land. This is a very possible kind of craft, and due to the long, frictionless part of the "flight", fuel efficient. Just no one seems to be talking about it. You would think it would be a perfect fit for Branson's hybrid engines, and the fact he already has an airline. Science Fiction authors have long postulated these, yet as I said before, no one seems interested in it.

[@dr4d1s]

I don't think it's that no one is interested in them, hell Elon has spoken about using Starship as a point to point Earth transport vehicle (take from that what you will. It also brings up a whole lot set of other problems), I think at this point in time they are too expensive to actually put into use, much less make them. The only people that would be able to afford them are the rich or the military.

[@stevemickler452]

HyperSoar is such a concept. The plane accelerates to Mach 6 or so using turboramjets and zoom climbs out of thicker atmosphere. It is claimed to be 5 times as fuel efficient as a subsonic airliner and can hop over populated areas without a sonic boom while basically out of the atmosphere and then drop into thicker air over the ocean to re accelerate for another zoom climb. It did pull 1.3 gees but that's not too bad.

[@TheAndroidNextDoor]

For SSTO's, you missed the opportunity to talk about the Venture Star. It was a proposed SSTO vehicle that would launch vertically like a rocket using an Aerospike engine, orbit, and then land similar to a space shuttle. It never went beyond the prototype stage with the X-33 but had they been able to iron out the kinks with it, it could have led to a full sized and crewed Venture Star.

[@JaredlS10]

Came here to mention the same thing. I remember being disappointed when the funding for the project was pulled.

[@Kitty-oy5nj]

@@JaredlS10 yeah ironically, oh look, its too expensive, lets save $500m, and spend $15 billion on the SLS using 35yo engines instead, I mean a big WTF NASA, can you do maths?

[@ebikeengineer]

Great video Simon!

[@mandisaplaylist]

13:30 You forgot another tiny little problem with hydrogen: It has a nasty habit of destroying metal structures via something called "hydrogen embrittlement", which isn't exactly great when your metal structure has to be able to hurl through turbulent air at 550 mph for several hours.

[@tsukeekage]

in the SSTO category, SABRE engine should have been mentioned, it seems the project that has the potential to allow SSTO design.

[@bobthompson4319]

When it comes to flying think about this. We had slow cars horses and planes that could fly 100 feet+ in 1900-1910. And then in a VERY VERY short time when you think of how far the flight distance is (250,000 miles) we where walking on the moon in 1969. That's a long way in just 64 years. And had slow unsafe cars to really very fast and a little safer cars that would go 150ish or faster and flying at mach 25 or 25 times the speed of sound and walking on the moon. JUST 65 YEARS. And now we are trying to figure out how to do it again? Any way that's a huge huge improvement in a tiny time span. The best time span.

[@eaphantom9214]

Ace combat 7 Love that reference and that game! Drones in Ace combat 7 - MQ101, MQ-99, Hugin, Munin 🐧😁👍

[@pamelamays4186]

Suggestion: Military aircraft used in air shows.

[@SpaceMonkeyBoi]

We should make tail sitting drones for defenses

[@usa1726]

Starting to think Simon is low key sponsored by Bandi Namco with all these acecombat plugs.

[@anthonyC214]

A comment should be made about the energy to mine and refine raw earth to make the renewable batteries , not to mention its pollution. Maybe you should do a side project on raw earths

[@Kitty-oy5nj]

its rare earth metals, like rare meat, not well done or medium cooked and its not raw either,.

[@pamelamays4186]

Ironically, an ad for a personal drone just popped up.

[@DavidHender-cj7vm]

Have you thought of doing an episode on the HOTOL, a very clever aircraft that never got off the ground (pun intended). A short range electrically powered Islander aircraft is soon to be built on the Isle of Wight too

[@craigmacgibbon9166]

A council member in Christchurch City here in New Zealand bought himself a Hyundai Nexo a little while ago. Last I heard he had about 400km of range left on his first tank. Unfortunately he bought the car without looking into hydrogen filling stations, and, well, lets just say he really needs to hypermile...

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Time to break out a big tank of water and some electrodes

[@stevestolarczyk8972]

Can’t help but chuckle whenever I hear someone describe solar power as “renewable.” 😂

[@MudSluggerBP]

The Wright brothers aren’t widely acknowledged as the pioneers of heavier than air flight.

[@MrTmac9k]

The possible danger of AI-controlled drones isn't that they'll go rogue, it's that they'll get their mission and say, "Ah, screw you man, I'm not going!"

[@wolfenwingsable]

What would they do? Arrest it?

[@MrTmac9k]

@@wolfenwingsable "Sir, we have a problem. It's our drones..." "Are they staging a revolt?" "Worse, sir. They've unionized."

[@wolfenwingsable]

@@MrTmac9k Theyve staged a coup!

[@JDOzzy37]

@@MrTmac9k That's funny right there!

[@larryscott3982]

The Hindenburg did not run on hydrogen. H did provide the lift, but not used as energy storage.

[@hakkysnak7021]

Great video. Thanks.

[@darmy9548]

Arnold says: get into the chopper

[@the-chillian]

A couple of issues with the hydrogen segment. You don't "purify" it from water. Water is a compound. Molecular hydrogen isn't a component of it; hydrogen atoms are bound to oxygen atoms by covalent bonds. Energy must be expended to break these bonds. Electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen is a high-school level chemistry demonstration and is a very simple process. In a real sense you are _making_ hydrogen and oxygen gas from water. A fuel cell is slightly more complicated, but it's essentially reversing this reaction, causing hydrogen and oxygen to bond into water, which releases energy. This points to two issues. Because of thermodynamic losses inherent to any process of energy transfer, you get less energy out of the hydrogen than you put into the water to make the hydrogen gas in the first place, and that's not even counting the energy cost of liquifying it that you talked about. So you need an abundant and hopefully green source of electricity, or you might as well be burning gasoline. Also, this means that hydrogen isn't strictly speaking a fuel. It's not an energy _source._ It's more of a medium for moving energy from the point of generation to the point of consumption. To me, the obvious answer for the past several decades has been OTEC, but that would take a whole nuther rant.

[@peterb9038]

@ChrisC Great comment apart from the recommendation of OTEC. The oceans needs that energy and apart from the unknown impact to the marine environment and ocean currents, I am also kinda fond of the mild winters that is causes in my area of the world.

[@the-chillian]

@@peterb9038 The oceans are where most of the heat from global warming accumulates. All this excess heat may shut down ocean currents, most likely including the one that keeps your winters mild. Over the past century, ocean temperatures have increased about 0.0017° C per year on average, if the heat were distributed evenly throughout all ocean waters. The annual amount of heat accumulating in the oceans annually is 9.5×10^21 Joules. This amounts to about 2,640,000 Twh. Meanwhile, the world's total annual energy consumption amounts to about 171,240 Twh. So even if OTEC were supplying 100% of the world's energy needs, it would draw off only 6.5% of the energy now being _added_ by global warming. So OTEC wouldn't cool the oceans. It would slightly slow down the rate at which they're heating up. But even a robust implementation of OTEC is unlikely to replace all other energy sources. However, all that energy is not being distributed evenly. Ocean surfaces are where the heat is going. Temperatures are more or less constant at depth. That's why surface temperatures are heating up about 10x faster than the average. And it's the surface that provides the energy for OTEC. www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/role-ocean-tempering-global-warming ourworldindata.org/energy-production-consumption

[@hernerweisenberg7052]

You don't make Oxygen and Hydrogen by water electrolysis. Oxygen is made in stars, Hydrogen in Big Bangs ;)

[@Daocpwnswow]

David Letterman did not deliver this many puns in a single show, man!

[@SkyFangKing]

We can only make SSTOs in simulation and games, like Kerbal Space Program. SSTO designs are as different as there are people, some are hyper efficient while some use a brute force method.

[@koharumi1]

The possible future of UAVs is arsenal bird.

[@shadowhenge7118]

One of the beginning clips of music is from the game Dyson Sphere Program... Neat.

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@TheEvilCommenter]

@John Higgins It was a really good 7 minutes 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@Ynhockey]

It should be noted that some of the earliest US drones were developed by Abraham Karem, an Israeli who made smaller drones from the IAF earlier. He later developed the Predator and other famous models.

[@each1-teach1]

5:39 *

[@MannsWoodlandPerspective]

Love these kind of videos. Jealous that who uploads these videos puts no effort into SEO and it still gets tens of thousands of views lol.

[@anonymousrex5207]

I'll just wait for my anti-gravity flying saucer thank you very much.

[@Kiwi-ICU-RN]

I’m 1 minute in but I’m waiting for the scramjet mention lol 😂

[@bradnorris7396]

Nice command and conquer reference

[@gordonwallin2368]

Harbour Air in Vancouver, B.C. has flown battery powered Twin Otters on floats. Cheers from Canada.

[@Iamaplatypus42]

Regarding unmanned air combat. That thing that is costly isn't the pilot, it's the aircraft... Having unmanned jet wouldn't reduced the cost of fighting by much.

[@qweryx001]

One motor that isn't jet and could take planes to orbit is the "haul effect thruster". there are even a few in making right now.

[@megafauna8374]

I'm impatient for the day a robotic AI can take control of my joy stick.

[@stevemickler452]

Probe and drogue recharging on takeoff would allow electric battery powered flight with current batteries. An autonomous aircraft would meet battery electric airliners after takeoff and supply them with power until they reach cruising altitude. It would then land and recharge or battery swap for the next airliner..

[@AlRoderick]

There's no way you can transfer that much power that fast, even if you could build that power cable it'd be impossible to make it work reliably in flight.

[@stevemickler452]

@@AlRoderick Fact free assertions aren't very useful. Are you arguing that high voltage electrical cables that can carry enough to power whole cities are unable to power one plane? That the cable mass would be too high for some reason?

[@redheadsg1]

10:00 Hide&Die ? Loooooooooooool 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣