Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

'SoLong' Solar UAV Flies For 24 Hours

AC Propulsion's solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle, the 'SoLong' (pictured left and below) has broken aviation records by flying for just over 24 hours straight fueled soley by battery and solar power.

This UAV with a 15.6 foot (4.75m) wingspan and a weight of just over 25 pounds (10.8kg) flies without noise, consumption of fossil fuels and creates no polution or global warming. It was launched just after midnight with a full lithium ion battery to run its electric motor through the rest of the night - at dawn it's solar panels increase output and began to charge the battery once more - getting it through until 12.45am the following morning when it landed with a half charged battery.

SoLong's next flights will be multi day ones.

SoLong's Specifications

Wingspan - 4.75m
Wing area - 1.50 m2
Mass - 10.8 kg
Battery - 100 LG Chem 18650 Li-Ion cells
Battery mass - 4.35 kg
Stored energy - 790 Wh
Solar array - 76 Sunpower A300 solar cells
Solar panel nominal power - 225 W
Maximum motor power - 800W
Minimum power for level flight - 82W
Speed range - 25 to 60 mph
Max. climb rate - 3 m/s
Control and telemetry range - 8,000 m

Source (pdf)

SoLong just after take off.

Posted by Darren at May 2, 2005 08:51 PM | More from UAV News |