In 1983, high school pals Jay Godsall and Michel Rugema attended a diplomatic lunch for landlocked countries in Ottawa. They hoped to sell Jay’s garden services to representatives. A Burundi delegate suggested they should rather find a way to bring affordable air transport to his continent. The moment Jay realized that Canada had a similar need, the idea of Solar Ship was born.
Of course, it took a while to hammer out the details, thirty years to be precise. But then, Thomas Edison did make over a thousand light bulbs before he cracked the code. You see, cargo planes need long airstrips and reliable supplies of petrol. While remote parts of Africa and Canada lack airports, aviation infrastructure, and even roads. Just perfect for a flying machine that gains lift from buoyant gas and aerodynamics.
The Extraordinary ‘Airplanes’ of Solar Ship Inc.
After considering dirigibles and small aircraft, Jay Godsall came up with a hybrid idea. How about, he said, we hang a light aircraft under a dirigible with storage space in the shape of giant wings. This would permit soft landings anywhere we went. Moreover, if we attached solar panels to the ‘dirigible’ we might not need petrol either.
The primary advantage of Jay’s Solar Ships is they can touch down in an area the size of a soccer stadium. That is provided a game is not playing at the time of course. While they could run on fossil fuel, Jay dreams of a form of air transport that needs neither fossil fuel, nor roads, nor runways.
Suddenly, the world becomes connected. In a flash, we could be delivering medicine by Solar Ship to isolated clinics. Likewise we could be taking computers with solar panels to farm schools. What a wonderful inspiration! And all because Jay Godsall listened to a diplomat from Burundi, who also knew how to dream.
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Images with Thanks to Solar Ship Inc.
