This is the plane could run on the friction energy of flight

January
8, 2021

3 min read

This story originally appeared on Alto Nivel

• Its creator was inspired by the carbon reduction technology of the Airbus aircraft model Maveric, which is powered by next-generation turbine engines.

Science and engineering is increasingly advanced, especially in the search for clean energy to help the planet. This is how Michal Bonikowski has designed an airplane called Eather One that generates its energy through the friction of its wings with the air.

This technology could become a reality thanks to nanogenerators called triboelectrics, which allow generating energy by rubbing, even the air against the wings of the aircraft, according to Sustainable Skies .

^{Image: via www.bonikowski.eu}

Its creator was inspired by the carbon reduction technology of the Airbus aircraft model Maveric, which is powered by next-generation turbine engines.

So far the main problem for the designer is the weight of the battery. However, he says he enjoys all the attempts to revolutionize flight.

How would this machine work?

Bonikowski explains that the air is full of electricity that can be recovered through the friction generated by the plane in flight and on the wings, instead of the fuel tanks, triboelectric nanogenerators can be placed that can generate the energy necessary to drive several smaller electric motors through the vibration of the structure and the friction generated by the bending of the wings during flight.

“In this case, the battery pack needed for transportation should only satisfy the need for take-off and landing. The flight itself could generate the energy needed to maintain it and, probably, to charge the batteries, ” says the expert.