???? What is the name of the plane on your cover picture for this TH-cam video.... It has two solar wings and appears to be somewhat of a glider??? I was hoping it would be covered in the video... Which was great!. The idea called my interests because with two wings you can avoid the extremely long one wing glider and still get the surface area for solar capture.... Thank you keep up the videos.!!!
@@debaustin2822 Except the lift to drag ratio of the glider decreases markedly with shorter wings, and in this case you present double trouble. That's why gliders look like an albatross which have an L/D of 20. The Duo discus glider is 45 with 18m wings, my single discus 43 with shorter wings (15m). Moreover a motor glider in saw tooth mode, say this Duo, will fly 45km for every 1km height lost with its LD of 45. On the way you try to fly streets of lift (or adjust for least sink) A bi-glider won't be the best choice for that with a low LD.
I flew the Sunseeker Duo with the owner and builder Eric Raymond in the summer of 2020; the drone footage you used at the end is from that trip. One thing about that aircraft is that you don’t need a headset; it’s absolutely silent. I’ve been theorizing about building a solar aircraft myself for years.
I've seen footages from the inside : it's like a dream. It's not rethoric : i mean it's exactly as if you dream to fly silently between clouds under this ultrz wide glass ceiling. Fantastic, really. Just the annoying beep to indicate your altitude was a bit noisy.
Really enjoyed this potted history of solar aircraft. Dense with facts and figures and nice production values without flashy padding. Brilliant - if only more of youtube was like this.
The planes based on sailplanes can shut down the motor and stow or feather the props, and use thermaling under pilot control. The charge time is constant so the range is greatly extended
No. Solar is so weak, you actually think it would extend range in any significant way? Thermaling, as in riding the natural lift like a glider? I can see a 400 passenger plane thermaling. Is that even a word?
@@burnsmatkin9606 apparently you are not aware of the newest updates to solar electricity generation materials. They are lighter and produce more electricity per square inch. That's being used many applications now. The roof panels on an rv can charge the batteries during the day so power is available all night. It is very impressive. There are many other applications of this tech out there. It does take moserate scaling to be useful.
Your YT channel is sincerely underrated. I've been daydreaming about this since a while ago. The things I'm wondering are: - What will be the reduction in drag if an electric aircraft flies at an altitude of 18 km (same speed but higher range)? - What will be the multiplier of the solar panel efficiency at this level (is it linear with what you mentioned in the video)? - Will electric motors achieve higher efficiency levels due to the lower operating temperature (- 60 °C)? Anyway, I really love your channel as I share the same ideas/thoughts as you. Keep up the good work!!
It’s good to see Rutan designs redesigned and used for modern material research and development purposes. Hopefully one day solar aircraft will be able to transition through the 200 knot airspeed envelope . That will be a game changer.
Very informative and well presented not to mention that I can actually hear the video without maximizing the volume and putting my ear to the speaker. Look forward to more content.
Maybe a solar powered hybrid airship would be better for cargo. A large surface area, less power requirement, better safety, meaningfull cargo capacity, autonomous operation...
Very good explanation, and just one thought: today there are bifacial solar systems that can be placed vertically and allow for different configurations. Possibly interesting for typical quad drones?
Whenever someone says "watch till the end", I almost always stop watching entirely. Let the merit of your content and presentation keep the viewer's attention.
If the next generation of batteries improve power density by 30%, and the solar panels improve to 40% efficiency, this becomes an exciting prospect for solar powered aviation.
Actually power density is already more than enough, it's gravimetric density that will deliver a step change, though not huge, it would have an impact.
I had the same thought of converting a old plane that already offers very good efficiency and long range. The landing gear on the Quickie is also a cool solution for simplicity and efficiency. Also looking forward to see performance of the Aptera EV will actually be and how the consumption is will be compared to similar sized aircrafts.
Thanks for this video. Im a fan of anything that flies and the potential of electric planes just gets better and better. Im really loving solar planes and the idea of a fast fun solar day sailer powered sail plane is definitely an idea whose time has come.
You could consider flying in ground effect, which greatly reduces induced drag and the structural weight required for large wing spans. At around 33 lbs per hp a regular rectangle wing needs low aspect ratio or the machine simply climbs out of ground effect, which we don't want if any useful speed is sought. Another inspiration is in the same light is Chance Vought's V173, which used tip mounted propellers to counter tip vortices on a low aspect ratio wing planned around an adjusted circle (so AR of 1.27) which aligned all of the 25% chords in a straight line. Except here electric propulsion doesnt require extensive transmission that an IC powered machine required.
I was just learning about WIG crafts today and am wondering if this could work with electric and solar! I am currently designing a solar powered trimaran cruiser which should work fine but only goes 6-8 knots. Which is fine for my purposes really, living aboard on a nice off-grid home with plenty of power for a comfortable home. But WIGs are kind of interesting. You'd fly much faster for shorter amounts of time and then recharge. I'd be totally fine with slower airplane speeds of 50 knots and larger wingspans for more solar power. But I'd like it at least to be suitable for traveling and camping like in a camper van. So maybe an interior space of 1.6m width and 4m length plus cockpit? Is that already crazy? Of course anchoring or docking at a marina then becomes a problem too. Also WIG can be classified as boats as long as they don't fly higher than 150m, so it would be easier to build and fly. And building yourself would be much more affordable to me.
I'm not familiar with Vahana, but a derivative of the Beech Staggerwing design could be both very efficient and strikingly beautiful. The big problem here is not the technology, but innovation -- that is, convincing ordinary people that this is the best solution to a problem they have, and that this solution is something they can understand and afford. For the moment, a C-17-like aircraft with charging stations aboard -- probably solar-powered so you're not burning extra fuel to recharge people's batteries -- could change a lot of people's minds. After all, if they can simply drive their cars aboard the aircraft and drive them off at their destination, why bother with standard passenger planes?
9:57 Don’t forget the loss from angle of incidence. You only get the full potential when the PV cells are near perpendicular to the sun. You will have much less power generated than you mention.
Out of all the aircrafts, the application of solar cells/film and more energy-dense battery systems on powered gliders seems perfectly feasible. Thank you so much for all the super informative videos. Love from Andaman and Nicobar islands, India 💖. Looking forward to new videos. Loved the videos on eVTOLs as well.
What a wonderfully researched video. Thank you so much for the tutorial. This is a fabulous subject and every day it seems we are progressing towards a more efficient and cleaner form of aviation.
I would think that LTA craft like blimps and dirigibles would better than airplanes for solar. Google SolarShip for an example. They have a lot more surface area for solar panels, a cargo capacity that is actually useful unlike other solar planes, and they need far less power to stay aloft. They would also be able to easily go up into the jet stream for greater speed with little additional power usage. A solar aerial cruise ship is within our current technology, although cargo is probably a better use case since speed is not as much an issue. Perhaps a dirigible casino would be a early use case.
I certainly think they would but I think it's just the challenge of making something that is catharized as a "fixed wing aircraft" that is the idea. And like formula one race cars it's the advances in technology that are important and may be adopted in civilian aircraft.
@@dejayrezme8617 ya. I don't know if that somehow changes the design challenge but its a good idea to make a compressed helium ridged structure. This is an example of a blow up plane made decades ago. th-cam.com/video/GJ-4uWwQ5HA/w-d-xo.html
Yes, very impressive but, WHERE WAS THE PLANE YOU USED IN YOUR TITLE THUMBNAIL??? all that intelligence disgraced with one deceptive move. Don't do it again...
Airships have been attractive repeatedly in aviation history. They sound like a good idea, but they have some built in disadvantages, most notably their susceptibility to adverse weather at lower altitudes, and their low speed. Will be interesting to see if this idea bears meaningful fruit in the future.
Amazing, well-researched video! Thanks for adding some numbers to potential solutions for short flight times. I love the idea of a tandem wing glider with solar, as in the thumbnail. I'm sad that there wasn't anything in the video about tandem wing gliders, except in closing.
My pleasure! Here is the article about the tandem wing aircraft. sustainableskies.org/a-solar-algae-hybrid-for-an-atlantic-crossing/ Not much has happened in the development of that aircraft
Thank you for your videos. Two points: One, the use of hybrid batteries and Ultra Capacitors. Two: charging systems, solar is good, but slow. Add into the mix a Q2 pulse motor generator from Quata Magnetics (based on Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent 685,957 and U.S. Patent 685958) - Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy, and the patent # GB191417811, 1915-05-13, BENITEZ CARLOS F (MX), System for the Generation of Electric Currents (using modern electronics). With all the above you could charge a Tesla Battery Pack, Theoretically under one hour. By splitting the pack as Carlos Benitez suggest, you charge Pack A while utilizing Pack B. And vise versa.
I think a cargo plane with a hybrid drivetrain using fuel for takeoff and gaining altitude with alternators to charge the batteries and using only electricity during cruise would be a great solution.
Better yet an electric booster unit that attaches to the electric plane which then helps the plane get to altitude and then detaches and returns to base.
Great video. You may also be interested in covering Zephyr by Airbus in future videos on this topic. They seem to be doing interesting work in this area.
I met the people who were involved in the Zephyr project about 4 years ago. They had just completed the Zephyr2 flight and achieved a record. I wanted to mention it in this video, but it was too long as it is. You are right though, it can be a future topic
I wonder weather a delta wing configuration would be more efficient, as an increase the surface area and a reduction in wing loading, therefore reducing the structural mass, reduce in drag at higher speeds. I very much enjoyed you presentation.
Your video are VERY well made and explained and informative. It would be also interesting to push the possibility to the absolute max, just like evaluating what we think today to be the impossible: ( a motor 100% efficient instead of 96-97%), solar cells 100% efficient instead of 30% etc... then we would know the true absolute boundary an electric aircraft can be in real time power ( no range batteries, just peak shaping batteries)
By the way when searching for solar panels on Amazon where they often overestimate the power output of the panels the best way to get a true estimate of the power is to use some Factor like 20% and multiply it times 1, 000 watts per square meter times the physical size of the cell which is usually specified in the description of the solar system. That will be the closer number to the true output of the solar panel on Amazon and you'll find they usually quote double that.
Always like your videos but this one made me react: I’m not aviator nor engineer. But I am a ‘creative mind’ and made a solar air plain design a year ago. Some say it’s an interesting design others say it’s impossible to make it fly. It would be nice to get in contact with some people who could actually think along and (if possible!) develop it to something that could work. Thanks again for the videos and keep up the good work!
My company has been on the case for a long (long!) time. We have designed a large (part) passenger carrying solar powered semi-ornithopter whose wings are covered in next generation solar panels to top up the batteries in flight and charge them when landed. That is all I can say for now, but follow @YAIRENERGY and we'll Tweet once we have something tangible to show. We're in stealth, so there won't be much news until everything works to our standards.
I'm a "creative mind" also. actually studied architectural engineering but I'm very interested in electric vehicle design. If you would just like to get some feed back on your design you can email me at dvdelze@gmail.com
@electricaviation Thank you for wonderful and informative content. I wonder how flying at low altitude (see "ekranoplane") can improve the range of electric flying boats
Yes you mentioned the Sunseeker Duo created by Eric Scott Raymond in 2009. However; when you recounted the history of solar powered airplanes; you REALLY "fumbled the ball" by failing to mention the Sunseeker 1 which Mr. Raymond flew across the entire United States in 1990!
There was a recent announcement from a Swedish team about structural batteries (basically turning carbon fibre composites into battery cells as far as I understood it) recently.
Perhaps the next version would be able to incorporate more solar cells along the fuselage sides of the plane so that the plane can produce power from rising and setting sun periods. Every square foot counts. Also, if the engine can be mounted in the rear, it would reduce the turbulence going through the entire body of the plane and increase laminar flow which will contribute to better lift and efficient power usage. You just have to use taller landing gears that will let you tilt for take-off and land more safely without damaging the rotors.
Better alternative: Put the PV cells under the wing, install lasers at the Tesla Superchargers, pointing up and tracking the airplanes! So the electric jet would have enough power available for a high speed travel! Thats the concept for the future for long distance high speed electric jets. Not kidding. My patent :)
Am I the only one waiting for someone to merge solar with a hybrid wing aircraft so you have A. Very efficient flying matched with B. A huge amount of plane surface area to put solar panels on?
I think the configurations we will see are first canard vtols with altitude capabilites of 50'000 ft and then a lifting-body flying up to 90'000 ft. Solar between 1.5 - 4 kWp for a 1 - 2 seater & 430 Wh/kg pack level batteries at 60 - 80 % of 700 kg gross weight. 400 - 500 kt cruise 10 hrs (unlimited 250 kt daytime).
3 main factors for future electric planes… lighter, stronger materials. More efficient solar cells. And higher energy density batteries. It’s slowly getting there.
I wonder about the possibility of a small satellite being launched from one of these vehicles. If possible when might we see something like this happen? I mean the advertising alone should insure available funds to accomplish the task.
If there is more than enough energy to be used on this planet is Sun and Water combined that translate it as steam . We have forgot the most simple combination we should re-look at from steam trains of the past .
The only problem with such Solar only aircraft, is that their build is so light weight that such a thing would be impossible for any conventional aircraft which would already be built to be structurally sound as possible to cope with its required weight goals. and yet be strong enought for mainstream daily use. The key to solar is doubling if not tripling the amount of electricity that can be developed from sunlight, and it is possible that far far more can be. Consider the earth is powered much by the sun. Everything is attributed to solar power in one way or another.
Very good station, Thank You. When fluid drive systems (like the blade-less fan) are refined and efficiently combined aerodynamically with ultra light materials in an air craft employing photovoltaic propulsion ...by powering a single motor turbine style fan that will supply power and thrust and then multiplied by the fluid drive.... then the destiny of aircraft will change very quickly. One of the strongest lobby’s in Washington today controls the oil industry, what do you think they feel about solar powered aircraft ? Burns no fuel what so ever. Euphemistically referred to as the golden goose. Ever wonder why ? ✌️😎
Go to the Antarctic. Place a rail in a circle on the ice. Build a bridge over it, capable of rotating on the vertical axis. Boil ice to exclude air. Spray the water from the bridge to form a lens of crystal clear ice, say 150meters in diameter. Spray aluminum onto the ice, the beginning of a giant reflective lens. Place piezo-electric crystals on the aluminum. Then build a lightweight scaffold over the piezo-electric crystals. (The piezo-electric crystals will be voltage controlled to correct lens aberrations.) Now pass a current through the aluminium to melt the contact ice. Hydrogen is pumped between the aluminum and the ice lens. The structure is floated on hydrogen off the lens under control of guys. Another lens is created in the above method. It is inverted and allowed to settle on the ice. The two are mated to form a "flying saucer" 150 meters in diameter. (Or somesuch) Add photopanels to cover the upper and lower surfaces. Twin booms are added to act as ion (Linear) accelerators. A slowburning rocket is attached. The whole structure is floated to the edge of space with hydrogen and maneuvered to the equator to gain the inherent acceleration of the Earth's rotation. The rocket fires to (Gently) place the structure in orbit. Free of air drag, the upper lens is separated from the lower and each acquires one linear ion accelerator. Each is sent to opposite LaGrange points of Jupiter. The Ion accelerators are detached and become the focal point of the Giant lenses. Result: We gain binocular views of exo-planets.
They need to design a solar plane that has Multijunction (MJ) Solar Panels on the wings so that they can generate the maximum amount of power of between 40-50%, they are the same solar panels now being used on satellites & spacecrafts.
???? What is the name of the plane on your cover picture for this TH-cam video.... It has two solar wings and appears to be somewhat of a glider??? I was hoping it would be covered in the video... Which was great!. The idea called my interests because with two wings you can avoid the extremely long one wing glider and still get the surface area for solar capture.... Thank you keep up the videos.!!!
th-cam.com/video/N3HNMWcbQgI/w-d-xo.html
@@debaustin2822 Its called the Eraole
@@debaustin2822 Except the lift to drag ratio of the glider decreases markedly with shorter wings, and in this case you present double trouble. That's why gliders look like an albatross which have an L/D of 20. The Duo discus glider is 45 with 18m wings, my single discus 43 with shorter wings (15m). Moreover a motor glider in saw tooth mode, say this Duo, will fly 45km for every 1km height lost with its LD of 45. On the way you try to fly streets of lift (or adjust for least sink) A bi-glider won't be the best choice for that with a low LD.
@@ElectricAviation that's the one that looks interesting nor the other .
I flew the Sunseeker Duo with the owner and builder Eric Raymond in the summer of 2020; the drone footage you used at the end is from that trip. One thing about that aircraft is that you don’t need a headset; it’s absolutely silent. I’ve been theorizing about building a solar aircraft myself for years.
Wow...must have been a cool experience... Thanks for sharing and good luck with a future solar plane project 👍
I've seen footages from the inside : it's like a dream. It's not rethoric : i mean it's exactly as if you dream to fly silently between clouds under this ultrz wide glass ceiling.
Fantastic, really.
Just the annoying beep to indicate your altitude was a bit noisy.
Really enjoyed this potted history of solar aircraft. Dense with facts and figures and nice production values without flashy padding. Brilliant - if only more of youtube was like this.
The planes based on sailplanes can shut down the motor and stow or feather the props, and use thermaling under pilot control. The charge time is constant so the range is greatly extended
No. Solar is so weak, you actually think it would extend range in any significant way? Thermaling, as in riding the natural lift like a glider? I can see a 400 passenger plane thermaling. Is that even a word?
@@burnsmatkin9606 apparently you are not aware of the newest updates to solar electricity generation materials. They are lighter and produce more electricity per square inch. That's being used many applications now. The roof panels on an rv can charge the batteries during the day so power is available all night. It is very impressive. There are many other applications of this tech out there. It does take moserate scaling to be useful.
Your YT channel is sincerely underrated.
I've been daydreaming about this since a while ago. The things I'm wondering are:
- What will be the reduction in drag if an electric aircraft flies at an altitude of 18 km (same speed but higher range)?
- What will be the multiplier of the solar panel efficiency at this level (is it linear with what you mentioned in the video)?
- Will electric motors achieve higher efficiency levels due to the lower operating temperature (- 60 °C)?
Anyway, I really love your channel as I share the same ideas/thoughts as you.
Keep up the good work!!
I genuinely enjoy your content.
Glad to hear it
“And with this, the video is concluded.”
TH-cam is not worthy of such direct language.
Yes I was shocked by such direct language. It's so offensive and colonialist. (sarcasm)
Another awesome episode!! 👍
"Wehicles" etc - I'm lovin it! 👏
Thanks again!
It’s good to see Rutan designs redesigned and used for modern material research and development purposes. Hopefully one day solar aircraft will be able to transition through the 200 knot airspeed envelope . That will be a game changer.
Fascinating! It will be incredible to see all the developments in EA over the coming years on this channel. Good luck!
Very informative and well presented not to mention that I can actually hear the video without maximizing the volume and putting my ear to the speaker. Look forward to more content.
Wow very engineering focused episode! Excellent!!
Thanks for the great information, and clear simple formulas.
Maybe a solar powered hybrid airship would be better for cargo. A large surface area, less power requirement, better safety, meaningfull cargo capacity, autonomous operation...
Very good explanation, and just one thought: today there are bifacial solar systems that can be placed vertically and allow for different configurations. Possibly interesting for typical quad drones?
Amazing explanation, thanks for sharing
Glad it was helpful!
Whenever someone says "watch till the end", I almost always stop watching entirely. Let the merit of your content and presentation keep the viewer's attention.
If the next generation of batteries improve power density by 30%, and the solar panels improve to 40% efficiency, this becomes an exciting prospect for solar powered aviation.
indeed
Actually power density is already more than enough, it's gravimetric density that will deliver a step change, though not huge, it would have an impact.
Brilliant episode, thanks for all you hard work putting this together, excellent, ^oo^
A tandem wing layout like the Rutan Quickie designs with larger wings might be a good one since you wing span can be shorter.
I had the same thought of converting a old plane that already offers very good efficiency and long range.
The landing gear on the Quickie is also a cool solution for simplicity and efficiency.
Also looking forward to see performance of the Aptera EV will actually be and how the consumption is will be compared to similar sized aircrafts.
You have a really great channel. Definitely one of my top 10 favorite! THANK YOU
Wow, thanks!
love your vids! informative, friendly and easy to watch, good luck with the v's there very vexing
Glad you like them!
Very interesting. I hope to see more of such quality content, so subscribed to your channel.
Thanks for this video. Im a fan of anything that flies and the potential of electric planes just gets better and better. Im really loving solar planes and the idea of a fast fun solar day sailer powered sail plane is definitely an idea whose time has come.
You could consider flying in ground effect, which greatly reduces induced drag and the structural weight required for large wing spans.
At around 33 lbs per hp a regular rectangle wing needs low aspect ratio or the machine simply climbs out of ground effect, which we don't want if any useful speed is sought.
Another inspiration is in the same light is Chance Vought's V173, which used tip mounted propellers to counter tip vortices on a low aspect ratio wing planned around an adjusted circle (so AR of 1.27) which aligned all of the 25% chords in a straight line. Except here electric propulsion doesnt require extensive transmission that an IC powered machine required.
Brilliant
I was just learning about WIG crafts today and am wondering if this could work with electric and solar!
I am currently designing a solar powered trimaran cruiser which should work fine but only goes 6-8 knots. Which is fine for my purposes really, living aboard on a nice off-grid home with plenty of power for a comfortable home.
But WIGs are kind of interesting. You'd fly much faster for shorter amounts of time and then recharge. I'd be totally fine with slower airplane speeds of 50 knots and larger wingspans for more solar power.
But I'd like it at least to be suitable for traveling and camping like in a camper van. So maybe an interior space of 1.6m width and 4m length plus cockpit? Is that already crazy?
Of course anchoring or docking at a marina then becomes a problem too.
Also WIG can be classified as boats as long as they don't fly higher than 150m, so it would be easier to build and fly. And building yourself would be much more affordable to me.
Excellent production. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, a tandem wing design is the answer ( like Vahana ).
I'm not familiar with Vahana, but a derivative of the Beech Staggerwing design could be both very efficient and strikingly beautiful.
The big problem here is not the technology, but innovation -- that is, convincing ordinary people that this is the best solution to a problem they have, and that this solution is something they can understand and afford. For the moment, a C-17-like aircraft with charging stations aboard -- probably solar-powered so you're not burning extra fuel to recharge people's batteries -- could change a lot of people's minds. After all, if they can simply drive their cars aboard the aircraft and drive them off at their destination, why bother with standard passenger planes?
@@johndemeritt3460 th-cam.com/video/vrVne35LU9U/w-d-xo.html
Now you know.
If done right, they could do away with the tail surfaces. Make it more like a canard configuration.
Love your videos, thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Excellent video , thanks for making , some indepth info.
9:57 Don’t forget the loss from angle of incidence. You only get the full potential when the PV cells are near perpendicular to the sun. You will have much less power generated than you mention.
You don't need direct sunlight. The losses at most angles are not significant.
Super informative! Thank you for making this!
Very much enjoyed this video. Great work.
Glad to hear it!
Great video full of interesting facts.
Out of all the aircrafts, the application of solar cells/film and more energy-dense battery systems on powered gliders seems perfectly feasible. Thank you so much for all the super informative videos. Love from Andaman and Nicobar islands, India 💖. Looking forward to new videos. Loved the videos on eVTOLs as well.
Improved battery and solar cell technology can improve overall performance of these aircraft.
What a wonderfully researched video. Thank you so much for the tutorial. This is a fabulous subject and every day it seems we are progressing towards a more efficient and cleaner form of aviation.
Thank you for your appreciation
Fantastic video man. As a glider pilot - I look forward to flying the next gen solar powered crafts.
You and me both!
Ty bro for your remarkable work.
I would think that LTA craft like blimps and dirigibles would better than airplanes for solar. Google SolarShip for an example. They have a lot more surface area for solar panels, a cargo capacity that is actually useful unlike other solar planes, and they need far less power to stay aloft. They would also be able to easily go up into the jet stream for greater speed with little additional power usage. A solar aerial cruise ship is within our current technology, although cargo is probably a better use case since speed is not as much an issue. Perhaps a dirigible casino would be a early use case.
Totally, man. 👍
I certainly think they would but I think it's just the challenge of making something that is catharized as a "fixed wing aircraft" that is the idea. And like formula one race cars it's the advances in technology that are important and may be adopted in civilian aircraft.
Exactly my thoughts.
Now fill it with hydrogen, develop a solar cell that converts sunlight and moisture from the air into hydrogen and you have it.
Maybe you could combine that "Flying-V" airplane / flying wing aircraft with a blimp? Shape the blimp not ling a blimp but like a wing.
@@dejayrezme8617 ya. I don't know if that somehow changes the design challenge but its a good idea to make a compressed helium ridged structure. This is an example of a blow up plane made decades ago. th-cam.com/video/GJ-4uWwQ5HA/w-d-xo.html
Excellent informative video!
Yes, very impressive but, WHERE WAS THE PLANE YOU USED IN YOUR TITLE THUMBNAIL??? all that intelligence disgraced with one deceptive move. Don't do it again...
Love your videos. Always get a lot of good information and so many good ideas.
Glad you like them!
Airships have been attractive repeatedly in aviation history. They sound like a good idea, but they have some built in disadvantages, most notably their susceptibility to adverse weather at lower altitudes, and their low speed. Will be interesting to see if this idea bears meaningful fruit in the future.
What a nice guy!
Informative and interesting
another great video! thanks!
My pleasure!
15:10 - the saddest part of every of his videos 😞
great story, keep them coming.
Thanks, will do!
What a great idea, so glad that green energy is so efficient. So nobody flies at night. Just brilliant.😵
Amazing, well-researched video! Thanks for adding some numbers to potential solutions for short flight times.
I love the idea of a tandem wing glider with solar, as in the thumbnail. I'm sad that there wasn't anything in the video about tandem wing gliders, except in closing.
My pleasure! Here is the article about the tandem wing aircraft.
sustainableskies.org/a-solar-algae-hybrid-for-an-atlantic-crossing/
Not much has happened in the development of that aircraft
Thank you for your videos. Two points: One, the use of hybrid batteries and Ultra Capacitors. Two: charging systems, solar is good, but slow. Add into the mix a Q2 pulse motor generator from Quata Magnetics (based on Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent 685,957 and U.S. Patent 685958) - Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy, and the patent # GB191417811, 1915-05-13, BENITEZ CARLOS F (MX), System for the Generation of Electric Currents (using modern electronics). With all the above you could charge a Tesla Battery Pack, Theoretically under one hour. By splitting the pack as Carlos Benitez suggest, you charge Pack A while utilizing Pack B. And vise versa.
I think a cargo plane with a hybrid drivetrain using fuel for takeoff and gaining altitude with alternators to charge the batteries and using only electricity during cruise would be a great solution.
Better yet an electric booster unit that attaches to the electric plane which then helps the plane get to altitude and then detaches and returns to base.
If glider design is the basis, well, a skilled pilot can use thermals and greatly increase range
Great presentation, very encouraging.
thanks for your research
My pleasure
Great video. You may also be interested in covering Zephyr by Airbus in future videos on this topic. They seem to be doing interesting work in this area.
I met the people who were involved in the Zephyr project about 4 years ago. They had just completed the Zephyr2 flight and achieved a record. I wanted to mention it in this video, but it was too long as it is. You are right though, it can be a future topic
Thank you for making this video👍
My pleasure 😊
I wonder weather a delta wing configuration would be more efficient, as an increase the surface area and a reduction in wing loading, therefore reducing the structural mass, reduce in drag at higher speeds. I very much enjoyed you presentation.
Excellent vid.
Excellent content. The formulas are very valuable
Your video are VERY well made and explained and informative. It would be also interesting to push the possibility to the absolute max, just like evaluating what we think today to be the impossible: ( a motor 100% efficient instead of 96-97%), solar cells 100% efficient instead of 30% etc... then we would know the true absolute boundary an electric aircraft can be in real time power ( no range batteries, just peak shaping batteries)
By the way when searching for solar panels on Amazon where they often overestimate the power output of the panels the best way to get a true estimate of the power is to use some Factor like 20% and multiply it times 1, 000 watts per square meter times the physical size of the cell which is usually specified in the description of the solar system. That will be the closer number to the true output of the solar panel on Amazon and you'll find they usually quote double that.
0:44 dang I gotta use integration? wolfram alpha will save me
Always like your videos but this one made me react: I’m not aviator nor engineer. But I am a ‘creative mind’ and made a solar air plain design a year ago. Some say it’s an interesting design others say it’s impossible to make it fly. It would be nice to get in contact with some people who could actually think along and (if possible!) develop it to something that could work. Thanks again for the videos and keep up the good work!
My company has been on the case for a long (long!) time. We have designed a large (part) passenger carrying solar powered semi-ornithopter whose wings are covered in next generation solar panels to top up the batteries in flight and charge them when landed. That is all I can say for now, but follow @YAIRENERGY and we'll Tweet once we have something tangible to show. We're in stealth, so there won't be much news until everything works to our standards.
I'm a "creative mind" also. actually studied architectural engineering but I'm very interested in electric vehicle design. If you would just like to get some feed back on your design you can email me at dvdelze@gmail.com
Well done very interesting.
@electricaviation Thank you for wonderful and informative content. I wonder how flying at low altitude (see "ekranoplane") can improve the range of electric flying boats
Yes you mentioned the Sunseeker Duo created by Eric Scott Raymond in 2009.
However; when you recounted the history of solar powered airplanes; you REALLY "fumbled the ball" by failing to mention the Sunseeker 1 which Mr. Raymond flew across the entire United States in 1990!
Finally, now i have the tools to race the sun.
There was a recent announcement from a Swedish team about structural batteries (basically turning carbon fibre composites into battery cells as far as I understood it) recently.
Only few kWh by kg of structure. A 300kg structure gives about 20 kWh of battery.
I doubt on the interest.
i cant wait to buy one
Awesome!
Thanks!
@@ElectricAviation Are there small personal solar powered flying machines that the average citizen can buy? Or do they all require extensive training?
Emrax motors. Insane power/weight ratios.
Perhaps the next version would be able to incorporate more solar cells along the fuselage sides of the plane so that the plane can produce power from rising and setting sun periods. Every square foot counts. Also, if the engine can be mounted in the rear, it would reduce the turbulence going through the entire body of the plane and increase laminar flow which will contribute to better lift and efficient power usage. You just have to use taller landing gears that will let you tilt for take-off and land more safely without damaging the rotors.
84 mph as the crow flies ain’t too bad
The great advantage is flying in "reverse" facing headwind (let alone quartering headwinds!)...🤣⚡☔🌦
7 tbl
Don't forget pioneering unmanned aircraft like AC Propulsion's So Long.
Please, please do something about the poor audio quality. Sounds like the microphone is meters away from you. Thanks!
Yes, I had to turn on the captions.
Better alternative: Put the PV cells under the wing, install lasers at the Tesla Superchargers, pointing up and tracking the airplanes! So the electric jet would have enough power available for a high speed travel! Thats the concept for the future for long distance high speed electric jets. Not kidding. My patent :)
Cartel should definitely look into autonomous solutions with Sunseeker.
Perhaps add a fuel cell to be able to fly at night.
Am I the only one waiting for someone to merge solar with a hybrid wing aircraft so you have A. Very efficient flying matched with B. A huge amount of plane surface area to put solar panels on?
I think the configurations we will see are first canard vtols with altitude capabilites of 50'000 ft and then a lifting-body flying up to 90'000 ft. Solar between 1.5 - 4 kWp for a 1 - 2 seater & 430 Wh/kg pack level batteries at 60 - 80 % of 700 kg gross weight. 400 - 500 kt cruise 10 hrs (unlimited 250 kt daytime).
Climb rates better than 10.000 ft/min if wanted
Great or great!! Respect from Russia!
Which is the best available solar powered a/c to fly around the world ?
I like it, how much too build?
3 main factors for future electric planes… lighter, stronger materials. More efficient solar cells. And higher energy density batteries. It’s slowly getting there.
I wonder about the possibility of a small satellite being launched from one of these vehicles. If possible when might we see something like this happen? I mean the advertising alone should insure available funds to accomplish the task.
Also, at higher altitude, air is thinner, thus requiring less energy to overcome it; as well as being closer to the sun, as you said. peace
At 12:45 it would be good to clarify that your calculation assumes that induced drag coefficient is constant across all speeds.
Solar Stratos is not pure solar, but rather solar augmented . A hybrid. It is also vapor ware since it has not flown and set any benchmark.
how well does it fly in the dark?
If there is more than enough energy to be used on this planet is Sun and Water combined that translate it as steam . We have forgot the most simple combination we should re-look at from steam trains of the past .
I never thought of that before 2winges glider if they are small and narrow
Silver acts as a nucleus separating and capturing the two energies coming from the fermie cells of the Sun's Oort cloud magnetosphere.
The only problem with such Solar only aircraft, is that their build is so light weight that such a thing would be impossible for any conventional aircraft which would already be built to be structurally sound as possible to cope with its required weight goals. and yet be strong enought for mainstream daily use. The key to solar is doubling if not tripling the amount of electricity that can be developed from sunlight, and it is possible that far far more can be. Consider the earth is powered much by the sun. Everything is attributed to solar power in one way or another.
Maybe a flying wing with its almost always greater wing area would be better suited for solar powered flight.
Very good station, Thank You. When fluid drive systems (like the blade-less fan) are refined and efficiently combined aerodynamically with ultra light materials in an air craft employing photovoltaic propulsion ...by powering a single motor turbine style fan that will supply power and thrust and then multiplied by the fluid drive.... then the destiny of aircraft will change very quickly. One of the strongest lobby’s in Washington today controls the oil industry, what do you think they feel about solar powered aircraft ? Burns no fuel what so ever. Euphemistically referred to as the golden goose. Ever wonder why ? ✌️😎
Right on... Yeah, that's sounding like a very optimum blend to me for the proper system! 👏👏
Thinking very similarly...
Oil companies are heavily hedging their bets on renewables from what I know.
Ah yes the OIL INDUSTRY a criminal organization the world has yet to eradicate and exterminate 😎
Go to the Antarctic.
Place a rail in a circle on the ice. Build a bridge over it, capable of rotating on the vertical axis.
Boil ice to exclude air. Spray the water from the bridge to form a lens of crystal clear ice, say 150meters in diameter.
Spray aluminum onto the ice, the beginning of a giant reflective lens. Place piezo-electric crystals on the aluminum. Then build a lightweight scaffold over the piezo-electric crystals. (The piezo-electric crystals will be voltage controlled to correct lens aberrations.)
Now pass a current through the aluminium to melt the contact ice. Hydrogen is pumped between the aluminum and the ice lens.
The structure is floated on hydrogen off the lens under control of guys.
Another lens is created in the above method. It is inverted and allowed to settle on the ice.
The two are mated to form a "flying saucer" 150 meters in diameter. (Or somesuch)
Add photopanels to cover the upper and lower surfaces.
Twin booms are added to act as ion (Linear) accelerators.
A slowburning rocket is attached.
The whole structure is floated to the edge of space with hydrogen and maneuvered to the equator to gain the inherent acceleration of the Earth's rotation.
The rocket fires to (Gently) place the structure in orbit.
Free of air drag, the upper lens is separated from the lower and each acquires one linear ion accelerator.
Each is sent to opposite LaGrange points of Jupiter.
The Ion accelerators are detached and become the focal point of the Giant lenses.
Result: We gain binocular views of exo-planets.
They need to design a solar plane that has Multijunction (MJ) Solar Panels on the wings so that they can generate the maximum amount of power of between 40-50%, they are the same solar panels now being used on satellites & spacecrafts.
Wind/ Solar NG...
Great for engineering studies. Waste of time when it comes to moving people from A to B.
People, maybe. But not cargo.