Russian Airplane to Run on Hydrogen From Air (1929)

hesham

hesham

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Hi,


Airplane to Run on hydrogen from Air
Flying at a height of 25 to 30 miles, an airplane being planned by Professor Rondine, of the Department of Aeronautics at Leningrad University, Russia, is to take the hydrogen which exists at these altitudes and use it for fuel! Professor Rondine proposes to equip his plane with a compressor to catch the thin hydrogen laden air and condense it to a point where it becomes a good fuel.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/airplane-to-run-on-hydrogen-from-air/
 

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:) :) Moderm mechanix is a wonderful site.
I was wondering again: Why they represent the note with a Burnelli-like design?
 
I cannot see that working, not quickly enopugh to actually produce fuel for the aircraft runnin the system.

Looks to me like someone looking for funding for a golden goose project.
 
That odd rotor set up depicted in the inset...work underwater?

That might sound more like a biologic than a propellor?
 
publiusr said:
That odd rotor set up depicted in the inset...work underwater?

That might sound more like a biologic than a propellor?
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That seems a classic roots blower compressor; was used some 20 years ago by Mercedes as motor compressor (i.a.)

www.atlascopco.com

All about the roots blower - Atlas Copco

Learn more about air compression and the different types of displacements compressors we know today. In this article we talk about roots blowers or roots compressors.
www.atlascopco.com www.atlascopco.com
 
My main question about that plane is the reality of hydrogen at these heights. Think there is no hydrogen at a height of 25 to 30 miles . At that time (20's) there was no information about the atmosphere at this height ; Picard reached the altitude of 10 miles only in 1931.
 
aim9xray said:
Internal combustion, subsonic, wing-born flight in a Burnelli-type airframe at 158,000 foot (30 miles) altitude?

Good luck to you, sir! I'd rather invest in Bolivian Uranium futures denominated in Dogecoin.
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Perpetual motion, too - no fuel required!
 
Georges said:
My main question about that plane is the reality of hydrogen at these heights. Think there is no hydrogen at a height of 25 to 30 miles . At that time (20's) there was no information about the atmosphere at this height ; Picard reached the altitude of 10 miles only in 1931.
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In 1920s it was actually thought that there are about 10% of hydrogen on high altitudes. So from 1920s point of view, the idea was fantastic, but "hard". Of course, the subsequent research demonstrated that there are less than 0.000055% of hydrogen in Earth atmosphere.

P.S. Professor Rondine seems to be some kind of mistake. There was professor Nikolay Ruynin in Leningrad Univercity at this time - a well-known aerodynamic researcher and author of several works about rocket flight and stratospheric aircrafts, as well as several educational works (his "Mejplanentye Soobcheniya" - rus. "Interplanetary Communications" - was one of the first encyclopedias about spaceflight). Probably his surname was misspelled.

P.P.S.
 
Dilandu said:
In 1920s it was actually thought that there are about 10% of hydrogen on high altitudes. So from 1920s point of view, the idea was fantastic, but "hard". Of course, the subsequent research demonstrated that there are less than 0.000055% of hydrogen in Earth atmosphere.

P.S. Professor Rondine seems to be some kind of mistake. There was professor Nikolay Ruynin in Leningrad Univercity at this time - a well-known aerodynamic researcher and author of several works about rocket flight and stratospheric aircrafts, as well as several educational works (his "Mejplanentye Soobcheniya" - rus. "Interplanetary Communications" - was one of the first encyclopedias about spaceflight). Probably his surname was misspelled.

P.P.S.
Click to expand...
At this time the highest altitude reached was 40 kilometers; By the shells of the "Pariser Kanone" in 1918 launched towards Paris. Interesting to know that it was thought there was so much hydrogen at these altitudes; perhaps because the hydrogen was the lightest gas.
 
Currently studying planetary atmospheres to support my SciFi world-building.
{ D'uh, is not going well... }

Seems, at that early stage in atmospheric science, there was expected to be a lot of free hydrogen at such altitudes. Then photolytic ozone etc discovered...

FWIW, I initially though this notion might have been an earlier take on the 'Engine Running on Water' scheme that still seems to pop up these days. Sorta 'Fly Through Clouds To Refuel'...

Been a while, but I vaguely remember one of my father's colleagues investing in such for cars. In truth, when you discarded the magnets etc, the whatsit generated some hydrogen from electrolysis, but mostly worked by water-injection as used for extra, 'combat' boost by piston engined fighters etc...

Colleague et-al lost their money, having only a minimally functional widget for their outlay, plus rampant water corrosion of engine internals. IIRC, Perp fled, was caught at port, spent next decade in prison. Also, IIRC, then made a modest living on fringe lecture circuit. claiming 'Big Oil' had suppressed his wondrous invention....
 
Tangential, my father's brother worked for 'Customs & Excise', UK's 'Revenue Men'.
He later mentioned that the 'Potential Difficulties' of collecting 'Vehicle Fuel Duty' (A hefty tax !!) on what was essentially distilled water, as used in domestic steam-irons and to top-up car batteries, had, um, 'Rather Exercised Their Wits'...

After a ''007' reference, he'd slyly quipped it would not be 'Big Oil' who defenestrated the 'Inventor' had that whatsit worked...
 

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