IANAAE (...not an aerospace engineer), but I smell a metric boatload of utterly delusional thinking here.<p>> ...remarkably simple way to slash air cargo costs as much as 65% – by having planes tow autonomous, cargo-carrying gliders behind them, big enough to double, or potentially triple their payload capacity.<p>A 65% cost reduction via tripling the payload would require that <i>costs</i> not increase, no? Are these huge cargo gliders <i>free</i> to purchase/operate/maintain? And hauling them around puts zero additional load on the engines of the air freighter that's towing them, to increase maintenance or fuel costs?<p>> ...payload-carrying gliders were towed toward combat zones in World War 2, full of troops and/or equipment, then released to attempt unpowered landings in the thick of things – with widely variable results, particularly where stone-walled farms were a factor.<p>True, but glider losses due to mishaps (starting with broken tow ropes) were damned high even before they got to the target area. What % of cargo being lost in transit do these folks figure is acceptable, in the modern air freight business?<p>> These "Aerocarts" will be pulled down the runway by the lead plane just like a recreational glider. They'll lift off more or less together...<p>Ask anyone with a pilot's license about this. Especially if he has experience with taxiways at large & busy airports, or with taking off in anything less than picture-perfect weather, or with airplanes that lack "sporty" thrust/weight ratios.<p>> With no propulsion systems, you save all the weight of engines, motors, fuel, ...<p>Even if your towing airplane magically does not need larger engines or more fuel to haul 2x or 3x the weight around - what happens when you land, and the tow plane engages its thrust reversers?