Dancing Fingers wrote:

I certainly don't think that compressed air would power a airliner but
it might be viable for small commutter flights. It seems like the
heat issue would only be an issue on the ground, during refueling,
although cabin heat would be a challenge. I was really wondering if
anyone had ever calculated the energy per cubic foot compressed air
can hold, relative to gasoline, diesel and hydrogen. There's a new
engine being developed, the Quasiturbine, that would be perfect for
this application.
For what it's worth.
Chris


Not only is the energy density of the compressed air ridiculously low
and nearly impossible to utilize efficiently, but nearly all of the
alternative energy schemes require that the entire set of propellant be
carried. With traditional fuels, the oxidizer is collected as it is
used. Between 12 and 17 pounds of air is ingested for each pound of
fuel carried.