In sci.physics Robert Clark wrote:
As mentioned previously, battery-powered airplanes and helicopters do exist.

As research toys; there are not as yet any electric airplanes or helicopters
that could be called practical in any sense of the word.

The ionic propulsion will likewise be battery-powered but at a more
efficient power usage, if the ionizing wires are at the nanoscale.

The greater efficiency for ionic propulsion with nanoscale wires can be
confirmed with any wires at the nanoscale, not just carbon nanotubes. For
example, the intense fields created by nanoscale wires in microcircuitry
boards is well-known to those in the field. So anyone who has familiarity
working with microcircuitry boards with nanoscale wiring could confirm this.

An intense field does not automatically means motive power.

Are you saying microcircuitry boards have to be lashed down to keep
them from flying away?

And that's all that's required. That in itself would be the game changer.
Even if it's only done on a model the size of a model airplane, once it's
shown that nanoscale wiring for ionic propulsion produced better
power-to-thrust ratio than helicopters, that would be sufficient for this to
supplant helicopters as a hovering transport method.

Yeah, sure.

You do know the tips of such ion generators burn away and the smaller the
tip the faster they burn?

Bob Clark

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--
Jim Pennino