Drones for everything except putting out fires
Using drone swarms to fight wildfires sounds great, but evaporation and turbulence make it unworkable. The solution? Boeing 737 air tankers.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Why drones can't fight wildfires
While drones are used to deliver packages, film weddings, or even detect where people relieve themselves in the countryside — the latest brainchild — wildfire suppression still relies on helicopters and airplanes. The idea of deploying swarms of small drones carrying water sounds great in a tweet, but physics gets in the way.
A commercial drone carries between 5 and 20 liters. In a wildfire, that water evaporates before it even reaches the flames. The heat front and updrafts — which already make 10-ton helicopters wobble — would vaporize any lightweight drone. Turbulence would make them uncontrollable, with a risk of collisions. As one analysis puts it, you need a big blast of water, not a drizzle.
In the United States, they already use Boeing 737s converted into air tankers, capable of dropping tens of thousands of liters in a single pass. The drone proposal, however ingenious it may seem, runs into the laws of thermodynamics and logistics. Sometimes, the old school remains the only school.
While drones are used to deliver packages, film weddings, or even detect where people relieve themselves in the countryside — the latest brainchild — wildfire suppression still relies on helicopters and airplanes. The idea of deploying swarms of small drones carrying water sounds great in a tweet, but physics gets in the way.
A commercial drone carries between 5 and 20 liters. In a wildfire, that water evaporates before it even reaches the flames. The heat front and updrafts — which already make 10-ton helicopters wobble — would vaporize any lightweight drone. Turbulence would make them uncontrollable, with a risk of collisions. As one analysis puts it, you need a big blast of water, not a drizzle.
In the United States, they already use Boeing 737s converted into air tankers, capable of dropping tens of thousands of liters in a single pass. The drone proposal, however ingenious it may seem, runs into the laws of thermodynamics and logistics. Sometimes, the old school remains the only school.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (29 replies).
More summaries
-
Robert Pape: US strategic defeat in Iran worse than Vietnam
Robert Pape calls the intervention in Iran the worst US strategic defeat since Vietnam, with the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian control and low-cost drones.
-
Morocco Signs 'Historic Deal' with US and Israel, Exchanging Embassies in Jerusalem to Celebrate Abraham Accords
Morocco and Israel agree to exchange ambassadors and restore direct flights, consolidating the Abraham Accords. The move seeks to boost economic and security cooperation.
-
€57,542 in 8 months: The other side of the American Dream
A Spanish trucker claims to have earned €57,542 in eight months in the U.S. The figure masks a lifestyle that divides: success or hardship?
-
Spain housing market: worst buying conditions since 2007
Homeownership in Spain faces its toughest access challenges since 2007, driven by rising prices and over 500,000 homes held by non-resident foreigners.
-
Retirement at 70: the pressure Brussels is already applying
The IMF warns that Spain's public debt is unsustainable. There is no formal EU route; ECB pressure and fiscal rules point to 70.
-
PSOE housing spokesman runs a rental company
The PSOE housing spokesman in the Spanish Congress committee is CEO of a rental company, according to Vozpópuli. The irony writes itself.