A
Anonymous
Guest
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EMF
100 kW
Cool! I have always felt that the airplane was mans greatest invention...a flying machine. I also think the Wright brothers were awesome. I read their biography years ago. Their solution to the 3-axis control of conventional aircraft, to this day, is still THE solution. What a puzzle they solved. Sure, they used wing warping, but this is pretty close to ailerons as far as I am concerned. They have always been an inspiration to me.
I think they would have loved this solar wing!
I think they would have loved this solar wing!
docnjoj
1 GW
I believe this plane has been around for a while! Astroflight and Bob Boucher had a lot to do with power and design. It is supposed to be an atmospheric satellite, going up high in daylight and dropping low at nite. Really cool!
otherDoc
otherDoc
A
Anonymous
Guest
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TylerDurden
100 GW
QinetiQ says it has broken unmanned flight record
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 29 minutes ago
LONDON - An ultra-lightweight plane built from carbon fiber and powered using paper-thin solar panels has broken the world record for longest-lasting unmanned flight, its manufacturer claimed Sunday.
QinetiQ Group PLC said its propeller-driven "Zephyr" aircraft flew for 83 hours and 37 minutes, more than doubling the official world record set by Northrop Grumman's "Global Hawk" in 2001.
The flight also went longer than a previous excursion by the Zephyr, which Qinetiq claims clocked up 54 hours of continuous flight last year.
However both the Zephyr's reported flight times are likely to remain unofficial because they did not meet criteria laid down by the world's air sports federation, the body responsible for measuring and verifying air and space records, QinetiQ spokesman Douglas Millard said.
"We were concentrating more on the flight than the record," he said.
No one at the Lausanne, Switzerland-based federation could immediately be reached for comment.
The 66 pound- (30 kilogram-) plane was launched by hand on July 28 in the Arizona desert in the United States and flown by autopilot and via satellite to an altitude of more 60,000 feet (18,000 meters), QinetiQ said.
Drawing on the power of the sun during the day, the plane stayed aloft at night using rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries. Its more than three-day flight began on July 28 and was witnessed by U.S. and British defense officials, the company said.
QinetiQ said the Zephyr, which is funded by a host of U.S. and British military agencies, had potential in the fields of reconnaissance and communications.
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 29 minutes ago
LONDON - An ultra-lightweight plane built from carbon fiber and powered using paper-thin solar panels has broken the world record for longest-lasting unmanned flight, its manufacturer claimed Sunday.
QinetiQ Group PLC said its propeller-driven "Zephyr" aircraft flew for 83 hours and 37 minutes, more than doubling the official world record set by Northrop Grumman's "Global Hawk" in 2001.
The flight also went longer than a previous excursion by the Zephyr, which Qinetiq claims clocked up 54 hours of continuous flight last year.
However both the Zephyr's reported flight times are likely to remain unofficial because they did not meet criteria laid down by the world's air sports federation, the body responsible for measuring and verifying air and space records, QinetiQ spokesman Douglas Millard said.
"We were concentrating more on the flight than the record," he said.
No one at the Lausanne, Switzerland-based federation could immediately be reached for comment.
The 66 pound- (30 kilogram-) plane was launched by hand on July 28 in the Arizona desert in the United States and flown by autopilot and via satellite to an altitude of more 60,000 feet (18,000 meters), QinetiQ said.
Drawing on the power of the sun during the day, the plane stayed aloft at night using rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries. Its more than three-day flight began on July 28 and was witnessed by U.S. and British defense officials, the company said.
QinetiQ said the Zephyr, which is funded by a host of U.S. and British military agencies, had potential in the fields of reconnaissance and communications.
