British solar-powered unmanned drone finally lands after flying non-stop for two weeks
- Details
- Category: Transport
- Published on Saturday, 24 July 2010 08:10
A British-designed, solar-powered aircraft today finally landed after shattering the endurance record for an unmanned plane.The Zephyr completed two weeks of non-stop flight above a US Army range in Arizona before finally coming in to land. It has more than doubled the unofficial record of more than 82 hours already held by Zephyr and has smashed the official record of more than 30 hours set in 2001. The Zephyr is the creation of Hampshire-based defense and research company QinetiQ. Launched by hand, the aircraft flies by day on solar power which is then used to recharge the lithium-sulphur batteries, which are used to power the aircraft by night.
The 'Eternal Aircraft' Zephyr Solar Plane Aims for 14 Days in the Air
- Details
- Category: Transport
- Published on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 08:00
A couple weeks ago we wrote about the Solar Impulse, a solar airplane that flew for over 24 hours straight. That was very impressive for an aircraft with someone on board, but compared to the solar-powered Zephyr unmanned aircraft, that's child's play.
The Zephyr has broken all kinds of records last week by staying in the air for 7 days, and right now it is still flying, trying to get to 14 days of continuous flight without any kind of in-flight refueling (except by solar energy). It's a very cool plane, read on for more details and photos.
22.5 Meters of Wingspan and Just 50 Kilos
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