Hacker News: alexfernandez

New comment by alexfernandez in "Flying Around the World in under 80 Days"

alexfernandez — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 09:51:29 +0000

At really high altitudes air density goes down quickly; this is good for planes but bad for airships because payloads are reduced. Plus, as you say, winds are really really strong: over 200 km/h. https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/250hPa/o...

I have seen many high altitude airship studies trying to hover around, but none have been viable in the end. To go around the world it seems better to just float, as in the comment above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46881679.

New comment by alexfernandez in "Flying Around the World in under 80 Days"

alexfernandez — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:31:33 +0000

Fair points. I am aware that it is a UAV, and that there are some harsh regulations around the world (e.g. drones are completely banned in Morocco). I am also willing to accept my vast ignorance. I don't know exactly what regulations apply to an autonomous airship: balloon, UAV, recreational amateur aircraft? Actual laws for the handful of countries involved in the actual trajectory (Nicaragua, Thailand, Egypt perhaps) are not easy to find online. So I changed the first paragraph to:

"Finally, what are the legal implications of flying an airship drone over foreign air spaces? This very complex area clearly requires in-depth study and careful consideration, and it lies completely out of my depth. The primary objective is just to avoid being shot down since I'm not planning to visit any foreign countries in person, so allow me to just touch over the main issues."

New comment by alexfernandez in "Flying Around the World in under 80 Days"

alexfernandez — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:08:05 +0000

I'm loving "Project for Intelligent Circumnavigation Airship Research Drone" myself.

New comment by alexfernandez in "Flying Around the World in under 80 Days"

alexfernandez — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 08:42:43 +0000

Corrected now, thanks! So grateful for the compliments. For the record, the correct link is: https://pinchito.es/2024/aves-aeternae.

New comment by alexfernandez in "Flying Around the World in under 80 Days"

alexfernandez — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 13:56:57 +0000

Project to Circumnavigate using an Autonomous Airship Drone

Flying Around the World in under 80 Days

alexfernandez — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 13:56:57 +0000

Article URL: https://pinchito.es/2026/avis-lxxx

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46846253

Points: 67

# Comments: 22

The Three Laws of Humanics

alexfernandez — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:11:01 +0000

Article URL: https://pinchito.es/2025/three-laws-humanics

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45163490

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by alexfernandez in "[dead]"

alexfernandez — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:59:19 +0000

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