Would this work? A huge flying wing/glider with multiple windmills on it?

Question

glide it into the jet stream, like a huge kite, to turn the windmills to generate electricity, all lightweight metal, hopefully it would mostly glide on it's own while the jet stream did all the work...

it would have to be huge, probably with several hundred tiny windmills on it... to be effective... and it would have some sort or minor propulsion devices for minor corrections...

Answer 1

It won't work. Something would have to hold it against the wind, which would require just as much power (actually a little more, because of friction) as that which would be generated by the windmills. The more windmills that you mount, the more power required.

If nothing held it against the wind, the whole thing would be carried along with the wind, and the propellers wouldn't turn.

Answer 2

4 forces work on any winged aircraft, and these forces need to balance for the aircraft to have a stable flight.

2 major aerodynamic forces, which depend purely on the RELATIVE motion of the air to the vehicle (not always the same as the motion between vehicle and ground!):

   drag (generally backwards)

    lift (generally vertically up)

and

  thrust (in the direction of travel)

  gravity (straight down)

Pure gliders still need a thrust component, to overcome the drag! (although it could be seen as "cheating"). They get their thrust by moving down through the air, in much the same as you don't need to pedal a bike when it's going down a steep enough slope. (so for gliders/bikes the component of gravity acting in the direction of motion, can be considered to be thrust!).

If the air is rising (relative to the plane) then the wings produce more lift. If it the air itself is rising with regard to the ground, then this may cancel out the fall, but still allows the forward thrust and the path of the glider can be level (or even be gaining altitude)

Windmills would add to the drag. Although you would be able to generate some power this way, I strongly suspect it would be more practical/efficient to only use an electric engine to GAIN the required height, rather than maintain it.

Once at altitude use the windmills to recharge the batteries (although the weight of batteries would be a problem!)

Higher altitudes need bigger wings to generate lift (as you've noted), and for a given weight you need more lift. Higher altitude does reduce drag (although it doesn't reduce as fast as lift)

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Perhaps hang the windmills on a rope off the bottom of the glider, so that they are in the slower air just below the jet-stream.(some kind of "rudder" to keep them pointing the right way) A big "parachute" IN the jet-stream might be able to pull the glider along.

Answer 3

The main problem with that is the drag the windmills produce. Perhaps a more effective way of generating its own power would be solar? Generally gliders have large wingspans, and so laying a sheet of solar panels on the wings would probably generate quite a bit of electricity. Also if it is carrying a person, the person could pedal to provide extra power to the motors, I believe someone crossed an ocean in a device similar to what i described.