So noone suggested using Flettner both for sail and keel yet? 
Such advanced research. Would be nice to see it flying, or doing SOMETHING. Meanwhile I’ll take some of that Aloe Vera. Or is that even Aloe Vera?
There is not enough lift to lift the assembly with the propeller which is used here as a wind rotor, and also the bevel gear, both being relatively heavy compared to the potential lift of the bottles having a small surface area.
I was however able to fly a Sharp rotor like a kite for a few seconds, no more due to balance issues. A video of this experiment:
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Hi Pierre:
Yes I’m sure that kite could be stabilized in some way - at least it flew.
By the way, I realized I had peter Sharp’s email and have also been in touch with him, after you mentioned emailing him - thank you. He has a lot of interesting info to share. I pointed him to this website and he did visit here on the web.
Here’s my question about the Magnus/Flettner concept in general:
Obviously, the idea is the entrainment of the airstream by the surface of the spinning cylinder, right?
So why are the cylinders always smooth? Wouldn’t they entrain more air if they had a rough surface?
What about a series of ridges or fins to further entrain the air? This question might apply to rotor sails.
Does anyone know the answer to this one? I’ll run it by Peter Sharp too and see what he says.
Peter Sharp indicated that (without lifting gas in an inflatable version) a central large disc was required, as for any rotating Magnus effect kite like on
But perhaps end discs could be enlarged as for the Savonius-type kite on
I read somewhere that indeed a rough surface would be preferable. There is also the presence and size of the discs, the aspect ratio…
I have a question: would an inflatable Flettner rotor (which remains a lighter AWE option) like Omnidea, be as effective as a rigid rotor? Omnidea tests showed good performance but at a low tangential rotation speed (well below 10 m/s), and also a relatively high power consumption in regard to the low tangential speed.
I’m also concerned that wind pressure will hollow the balloon, putting pressure on it to hinder rotation.
Peter Sharp is really an expert in Flettner and (of course) Sharp rotors.
The latter can explain the previous.
Oh Boy, here we go again!
Airbus to launch new low-carbon ocean fleet featuring Flettner rotors (newatlas.com)
More “news of the future”…
One more rendering…
I’m wondering if the amount of supposed fuel savings will be worth the extra weight, additional power required to spin the cylinders, and the added physical and operational complexity and increased danger.
Do you think this is really going to happen? Or is it just one more fluff piece?
Love the way they are saving on their carbon footprint by producing airplanes. Like Norway’s low carbon oil.