Imagine a gigantic light-weight "Ferris wheel" built
using kevlar spokes with a thin rim of kevlar and with
the airfoils attached to that rim. The airfoils would
be individually controlled in their "attack angle" . . .
Ah, yes. It would resemble a marine paddle wheel. The later ones changed the angle of attack of paddles as they rotated. The largest ones ever made were on the Great Eastern. They were 17 meters in diameter. See photo here:
http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/conMediaFile.28/The-paddle-wheels-during-the-building-of-the-Great-Eastern.html
This idea incorporates my nutty plan to build a 1-km wheel.
I still think it is out of the question, but this is better than having steel cables fall out of the sky.
- Jed
