mjah Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 ...and reaches 28,000 feet, storing excess solar-derived energy to successfully fly through the night and land after 26 hours in the air. Reuters article Pictorial: The Endless Flight Truly remarkable. Apparently the next step is to build a solar plane that will cross the Atlantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Very cool. I wonder how close to practical it is. How fast can it go? How much can it lift? How maneuverable is it? (I suspect comercially it would have a gas back up for a while) but I think stuff like this is really cool. Okay, read the article. Still pretty cool. Not a comercial project as yet, but still very cool. A solar powered plane that weighs about as much as your car would be a pretty cool tool for a family vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 How about a Solar Powered Escolade or Navigator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Amazed that such a thing is possible. When I clicked on the link, I was expecting to see that what it really was, was a blimp with a solar motor. No, I don't think anybody ever expects solar aviation to catch on. It's simply one of those "prove that it can be done" things. Still, even in that context, I'm impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 How about a Solar Powered Escolade or Navigator? How big are you willing to let the roof get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 No, I don't think anybody ever expects solar aviation to catch on. It's simply one of those "prove that it can be done" things. Still, even in that context, I'm impressed. Why couldn't we have dual use planes? Maybe a fuel backup if something were to go wrong. Or, maybe the solar kicks in at cruising altitudes when the plane is well above cloud cover, etc. Imagining the energy and pollution that could be saved by solar powered flight... How big are you willing to let the roof get? I think you'd have to make it a bit smaller on some of the new models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 How about a Solar Powered Escolade or Navigator? Pointing out that this vehicle's average speed was, IIR, 23 MPH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Solar powered night flight? My guess is that when it got dark, the plane just floated until there was enough sunlight to fly it again. We all know you can't get solar power when it's dark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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