I am no aero or avionics engineer by a long shot, nor do I have much experience with flying things beyond Naza controlled stabilized drones. I have absolutely no business in this field, but there is something so neat about the idea of personal energy generation. Personalized energy, which is something that strikes home to me, is something that is encountered frequently where I am from. Solar panels and household battery systems have started to become a thing, creating this massive decentralized network of mini power stations.

We get alot of wind here in the desert, so much so that we have one of the largest wind farms in the US right next door. But beyond just the occasional passthrough going to and from the Riverside area via the I-10, there isn’t much interaction to be had with them.

I am not the first to attempt to create a portable wind-based energy systems and will certainly not be the last. But almost all the examples I found were one way or another stuck on the ground. Generally speaking, the higher and bigger the blades, the more energy you could produce.

The inspiration behind this system is heavily based on the designs found here:

A shot from a yogurt ad done by The Line Animations

The Future Is Bright - Atomhawk Solarpunk Contest Grand Prize Winner by Jessica Woulfe

As far as I can tell, Jessica Woulfe is responsible for the system found in the yogurt ad as well, as she was apart of the team during the time.

There is a couple separating features about this design that makes it incredible and (maybe) possible. For one, it looks like the turbines rely on a helium balloon principle, where the outer rim and the body itself are inflatable. The look of the design speaks for itself.

Whether this system is possible or not, there is something to be said about the work she is inspired by. Truly incredible stuff. So incredible that I want to build it.

So, let’s get to it.