RichardFreytag wrote:
Modern wind turbine blades are strikingly similar to glider wings.
They are now now coming out in sizes approaching 50 meters. The market
expansion for wind energy is expected to grow rapidly. The ensuing
economies of scale from mass produced wind turbine blades just might
offer significant cost advantages to glider manufactures.

Nice idea, but among other things, a turbine blade is designed to cope
with the fact that the effective airspeed of the inner portion of the
"wing" is always somewhat less than the outer portion. If you look at
one up close, you'll notice it has a good deal of twist. They also use
differing airfoils along the length of the blade. Finally, I suspect
they are a good deal heavier than what we would need.

By the way, one of the oddest things I've seen on the tracks through the
waterfront in downtown Oakland (California), was what turned out to be a
train load of large unassembled wind turbines headed somewhere up north...

Marc