WindRunner: the world's largest plane, built to carry 100-metre wind blades

Key points

Key takeaways from the WindRunner explainer video by Radia, the Boulder, Colorado aerospace and energy company building what it calls the world's largest aircraft (August 2024):

The problem. Today's turbines are too big to get under bridges, through tunnels and around curves, which is why onshore blades are typically limited to around 70 metres.

The offshore gap. Offshore turbines already run blades well over 100 metres — Eiffel-tower-sized machines — but that scale has been unreachable on land.

The WindRunner. Radia's aircraft can carry a blade of more than 100 metres and land on dirt within a wind farm, bringing offshore-scale machines to onshore sites by air.

The goal. Radia says air-delivered giant blades are the path to the cheapest energy in the world, unlocking far more land for wind farms.

Mission context. The WindRunner is set to become the world's largest plane, designed to address one of the biggest challenges in renewable energy: transporting large turbine blades.

Read more: YouTube · Radia