Saw this on John Powell's book about airships to orbit.
A question popped up in my mind: Could you build a plane out of air that could fly on Mars?
Well, that's basically what John Powell of JP Aerospace is doing. His Airship to Orbit will start at 140k feet and climb to space. At 140k feet, the air is thinner than the atmosphere on Mars.
He will use a fancy propulsion device that is similar to what was portrayed in the film The Hunt for Red October. Such a propulsion device has already been built and operated before in a sub. The Japanese did it awhile back.
He compares his airships to subs, by the way. The principles are quite similar. You can float on air as well as water. It isn't exactly a new concept. The thing that's new is his aggressiveness in pursuing the concept. People have given up on airships.
Try to imagine an airship that can travel at hypersonic speeds. Even the government with all its money cannot field an airplane that can fly faster than Mach 3. I am talking about an operational vehicle, not experimental vehicles here.
Powell's ideas could be disruptive. It would be a mistake to underestimate him.
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