New Drone Tech: No Propellers, and Yet It Flies! (3:20) ~ Roswell Flight Test Crew

submitted by JasonCarswell from youtube.com

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[–]Zapped 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (3 children)

From small beginnings..... This is how things happen. I wonder if the TR-3B uses something like this.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

https://search.brave.com/search?q=TR-3B

Definitely not UFO propulsion. But some or our spacecraft utilize very limited ion propulsion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thruster

[–]Zapped 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I read that supposedly the TR-3B uses mercury in high-pressure and high-rpm's somehow, but I don't know where that information came from. I have friends who have seen this craft twice about 5 or 10 years apart. The first time it emanated a humming sound and had red lights underneath and was followed by military helicopters. The second time it was silent with yellow/white lights and unescorted. I may have the color of the lights reversed, though. They live in a rural setting that is in the training flight path of more than one regional military air base.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Curious. /s/UFO

[–]zyxzevn 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

It still uses air-flow and needs a lot of battery power, but it looks cool.
More advanced and you get an ion-drive.

[–]LarrySwinger2 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

"And yet, it moves." - Galileo Galilei.

[–]BravoVictor 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Shame he doesn't explain the technology a little more. I'm curious that this works. Fanless fans have been around forever, but they require an external power supply. Making one that can produce enough lift for a drone has always required more electricity than even the densest lipo battery could store.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

These are not bladeless fans, which actually have an internal blade.

If you watch again, you'll see a central fan that I think provides most of the heavy lifting, leaving the lighter balancing work to the ion propulsion - akin to balancing a top but MUCH trickier without the spinning centrifugal stabilization.

IMO, it's more than a little deceptive not to mention the main thrust.

[–]BravoVictor 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

These are not bladeless fans, which actually have an internal blade.

Right, that's a marketing brand, not an accurate description. Bladeless fans do not have blades. I'm referring to solid state fans. They use charged plates to ionize air and produce wind. That's how those silent ionic air purifiers work.

This is just one of those air purifiers, but with a much lighter frame, multiple ionizing lattices, and, presumably, a higher voltage.

If you watch again, you'll see a central fan that I think provides most of the heavy lifting, leaving the lighter balancing work to the ion propulsion - akin to balancing a top but MUCH trickier without the spinning centrifugal stabilization.

Interesting. That makes sense. I did notice that, but thought it was just a cooling fan for the electronics. That does make this a lot less interesting, but I guess there's some practicality in having a drone with only one fan instead of 4. That would still be a lot more quiet, as well as mechanically simpler.