Solar-Powered Plane Flies for Nearly 83 Hours, Doubles World Record
DailyTech reports that defense firm QinetQ has set the unofficial world record for the longest continuous unmanned flight with the Zephyr, a British-built spy plane.
The Zephyr stayed in the air for 82 hours and 37 minutes, besting the previous record of 30 hours and 24 minutes held by Northrup Grumman’s Global Hawk.
The plane, which can be launched by hand, has a carbon fiber skeleton that weighs under 70 lbs and an 18m wingspan covered with silicon solar cells. It is powered by a lithium sulfur rechargeable battery that is twice as efficient as any other battery in the world.
Despite the Zephyr’s record-smashing speed, it will not set any official world records. According to the World Air Sports Federation, the plane’s flight did not fulfill the requirements of a world record attempt since it was performed to test the Zephyr’s ability to relay ground radio messages.
But that doesn’t mean the test flight was for naught. The Zephyr’s designers believe that the plane could potentially fly continuously for weeks or months, and the technology has countless military uses. Even more exciting, the Zephyr’s exhibition of solar energy used in flight opens up the possibility of manned solar-powered planes—a development that would revolutionize the aircraft industry.
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All of a sudden, solar is big!
ZDNet blogs just ran a story on breaking research being performed at Idaho National Labs re: new ways of storing solar energy. Also, Hempstead NY recently received a new solar house:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6PJnYMXgwQ
I think Sanswire is going to best this records with their Stratellites. Check out some of the vids on here, http://www.sanswire.com/
seriously 82 hours is the max? that must be the on the books record
The magic word little understood when speaking solar energy is “renewable” The concept of a flow of energy, for free, forever - yes, perpetual! as in perpetual motion the mad dream of physics! but we have it now! Set up a solar electric plant in a sunny spot in the desert, and for the maintenance costs only, kazzamb! perpetual power for America! no big oil ships, no nasty Arab wars to fight, no dirty international politics, no carcinogenic benzine rings to cause breast cancers, no filthy smoke and CO2 to ruin our planet, no shortages, no price fluctuations, no dirty fumes, and it is ours, no strings attached! I think if we start calling Solar, Wind, Wave, and Ground Heat energies “perpetual” as well as renewable, they may gain more acceptance! This is more of a paradigm shift in North American conceptual powers, not a sales job! It has more to do with how English has been taught in our schools over our ability to understand and grasp true meaning. So, from now on “perpetual” energies directly from Mother Nature!