Surely it would save some carbon emissions if the plane was clad in solar panels and could use solar energy once airborne/above the clouds?
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Honestly the power output of a solar panel is kinda weak. Yeah the wings have a lot of surface area and stuff but the power needed to keep a plane that heavy moving that fast is very high. It just isn’t happening.
And there are concerns with building the plane. Though the air is thinner at high altitudes, they’re basically flying through a hurricane through their sheer speed. How you do have solar panels on the plane, exposed to the light but also able to withstand those winds for hours at a time? I’d be worried about them just getting ripped apart, or otherwise needing some kind of transparent layer protecting them. Gotta be transparent so sunlight gets to the solar panels!
It’s not even remotely practical.
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