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Solar airplanes are propelled electrically over solar cells and electric motors. Since they refer their energy exclusively by the sun exposure, they need no fossil fuel and cause thus no emissions (pollutant output).
Solar airplanes can be preferably used as very highly flying objects, since the sun exposure in large heights is absorbed less by the terrestrial atmosphere and no shading takes place via clouds.
If one equips these airplanes with an energy storage, which stores during the day a part of the solar power and makes it available at night for the drive, solar airplanes can remain theoretically unlimited, in practice at least for days, weeks, perhaps even months in air. Zurzeit is favored a hydrogen producer gas cell system as energy storage.
End of the 1970er, was based on the muscle power-claimant airplane Gossamer Albatross
First flight: At the end of of 1980, crossing of the English Channel with a solar airplane on 7 July 1981
Pathfinder was developed at the beginning of the 1980er years for a secret program in the USA. After some flights one stated that the technology for meet for a long time solarclaimant flights had progressed not yet far enough. Thereupon Pathfinder was mothballed. 1993 were made again ready for flight it of the Ballistic Missile Defence Organization and transferred for 1994 of NASA for its ERAST program (Environmental Research aircraft and sensor Technology), which had the development of unmanned aircraft as a goal.
On 11 September 1995 a first world record for solarclaimant airplanes was set up, reached as in a flight a height of 15.240 m (50,000 ft). On 7 July 1997 this record was increased to 21.802 m (71,530 ft). That was the world record for propeller-claimant airplanes and solar airplanes. 1998 developed from Pathfinder of the Pathfinder pluses.
Technical data:
Centurion represents an advancement of the Pathfinder plus.
Starting from January 1999 the airplane was converted to Helios prototypes.
Designated after the sun God of the same name of the Greek mythology, of Helios developed by NASA and the California company AeroVironment is an unmanned light airplane. With this aircraft it succeeded on 13 August 2001 over Hawaii to break the world record in altitude for not-rocket-powered airplanes. With a reached height of 29,413 meters that was adjusted nearly 25 years old record by 25,929 meters of a SR-71 Blackbird Spionageflugzeuges. This kind of aircraft is to be represented an alternative to satellites or be used also for research tasks in very large heights.
The first test flights took place in September 1999 with battery operation. The later record flight was accomplished exclusively by use of solar power. However the ascent took about 6 hours.
The 580 kg heavy aircraft was propelled by 14 electric motors. The span amounted to 75.3 meters and was thereby 15 m more largely than with a jumbo jet.
On the wing surface nearly 66,000 high speed solar cells of the company SunPower with an efficiency of 22 per cent were installed, who made 30 KW available of electrical achievement during full sun exposure. The price of the used solar cells was with scarcely 9 million dollar. The airspeed amounted to about 30 to 50 km/h.
Helios fell to 29. May 2003 with Hawaii into the Pacific. The crash cause was not communicated.
Note: The data in the sources to the span, reached height and old SR-71-Rekord are partly contradictory, lie however in the same order of magnitude.
German solar airplane project of 1980, was based on the production aircraft CAN pool of broadcasting corporations - 2FL. It was sketched and designed by smelling ELT.
Solair II, successor of Solair I, is a German solar airplane project, which began in the year 1996 and to the goal had of developing and of building a solar airplane, which possesses a higher value in use opposite the predecessor. One oriented oneself at the building of gliders. Solair II possesses a V-tail unit, at whose fin point one propeller each provides for propulsion. The airplane was manufactured in half shell sandwich structure with honeycombs. It is self-startingable with loaded Akkus. For the straight flight 755 Watts of drive power are needed.
ICARE II is a German solar airplane project of the University of Stuttgart from the year 1996.
Approx. 2009 are to create solarly the impulses of Swiss Bertrand Piccard and the EPFL as the first solar airplane a complete world orbiting.
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