Here is what caver's may have in 100 years, or so:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhpPhvWvLgk&feature=player_embedded
The Puffin only flies 50 miles, so the cave would have to be less than
25 miles away from a charging station.
It looks far fetched, but since the military plane, the Osprey, works
on a similar principal,
it should at least get airborne.
About 22 years ago, I got a private tour of the hanger where the
Osprey manufacturer had both its smallest version and the medium size
prototypes. I still haven't seen one fly, but they have been doing
flight test somewhere around Fort Worth for 20 years, or more.
Supposedly, the military tested 3 Ospreys in Iraq and now they have
one in Afghanistan.
They seem to be keeping the program quiet, as it has been
controversial and very expensive.
But the Puffin seems to make much more sense than the Osprey. It has
far less moving parts and works like a flying Segway scooter.
One drawback for cavers is that there does not seem to be room for caving gear.
Could the Puffin fly in and out of Golondrinas?
Ref:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wquQXfAOOw4&NR=1
David Locklear
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
