R/C Flying Solar Panel???
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- It's the dump truck of solar planes!
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5:20 The pumpkin hand coming out of nowhere without context made me lmao
AAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH totally
I had to look for a comment about the pumpkin hand too
Yeah I looked at that and was like wtff
i didnt even noice that
He slaughtered a poor pumpkin and we all know it.
7:30 AND we get a freaking song ? My man you are a gentleman and a scholar !
5:17 I'm murdering a pumpkin right now, but it's time to film myself checking solar charging...
@Grim FPV lmao
When i saw that I immediately went to the comments to find this gem.
@@magnushayden8107 you're not alone
Think of witty comment about murdering a pumpkin. Remembered to read comments before making a comment. Read first comment, which also mentions murdering a pumpkin. Upvote comment.
solar engineer here: cracks on the cells will reduce power a lot! even if you do not see it. Put the battery and propeller way forward with two small carbon fiber sticks. Have fun! it was great to watch
Any idea what charging devices he was using on the batteries?
@@hagfelsh buck/boost converter?
@@EREBUSAETHER bust converter
7:56 "It's the dump truck of the solar plane world"
Beautiful!
The whole song was great!
This panel can put out close to 100 watts th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.
"It's the dumptruck of the solar plane world" 😂😅
Great name for a pug too.
It's very cool!
I just made a comment about it.. Its a good song. Now to finish the video.
Hahahahhaha so cool!!!
Thats too funny! 🤣
The wing is totally flat. The panels are flexible and should be more lift-shape. How about bending panels over depron ribs ?? Skip the foam (and the strength). Keep level flight with a gyro stabilizer for RC and let the gps control a rudder. Or swing the engine sideways by gps control ??. Hope I make sense. GREAT WORK DUDE. Love it.
This isn't a solar powered plane but a flying solar panel...
You are correct
Yeah
Motorized solar panel.
@@antman7673 well, weren't some advanced solar panels motorized already, automatically adjusting their angle to the sun in an attempt to maximize efficiency?
i still don't see those flying unless there's a hurricane though. :D
Brilliant. Just add hydrogen balloons and collect moisture to convert water into hho to keep it aloft indefinitely.
Can’t wait to see videos on the super efficient solar glider! I would love to see a whole series on it. And then next step have it fly truly 24/7, that’d push this project to a whole other level. Not sure if the math would work out though.
We need a round the world mission. On the equator of course. Is this too much to ask?
No! We _need_ this!
if you go up really high that's a way to store excess energy from the day and then you can just glide down at night if you go high enough. you gotta be careful about not getting in the flight path of other aircraft though
that song was god tier
as soon as it started playing I had to exit fullscreen mode to go give it a like
Young man, I have been watching your videos for years.
You're a gifted designer and I appreciate that you share your experiences with us. The song was awesome.
Thank you.
How about lengthening the “fuselage” to improve the CG without the weight of a second battery and reinstall the vertical stabilizers?
Or tilt the engine to down a bit?
And drop the vertical stabilisers below the plane to avoid shadowing. Kind of like very long winglets
It's a good idea with a large aluminium, wood or carbon fiber rod (maybe 2 ft) and then install canards for pitch control
Have the motor on a forward boom?
For this video at least, it seems like he could've used the better charge controller in place of the second battery to bring CG into spec, just strap it on and go. For a better installation, a longer nose with the charge controller mounted in the wing and maybe a little foam fairing to slick it up would help in that regard, but sourcing a more compact/lightweight controller would be preferable. Relocating ALL of the components, including the servos, as far forward as possible would be an ideal solution. You're not adding mass with a longer nose or what amounts to ballast, you're just using what you already have to rebalance the aircraft. Only after you've relocated components to the front should you consider a longer nose or ballast or a boom mounted engine with canard (that's actually a good idea for stability, but does add some complexity).
The verticals don't need to be underneath, they just needed to be put on booms behind the plane...a pair of rulers taped to the wing would've worked well enough, that could've been done in the field. Some carbon fiber rods would be better for CG purposes. That would give it better directional control than what it had with no solar shadowing. The strakes underneath the wing help with slow flight, and particularly on such a low aspect ratio wing. The airflow underneath has more of a tendency to move outward toward the wingtips rather than straight back, which induces vortices and causes the wing to be les efficient. Those strakes are like stall fences in that they straighten the airflow and sort of force it to go the way you want, which is straight back. So he probably unknowingly increased the efficiency of the wing trying to get it a little stiffer.
The potential was there for this little guy to do really well, it just needed some refinement.
3:50 diffuser strakes don't directly create downforce on cars, it's just to "organize" the air so making downforce is easier
The song be popping!!
Hell ya, let's get Colin that laptop!
When watching Daniel's videos I often wonder what the wright brothers would think of all the things that can actually fly.
I got out of FPV and RC years ago but I still watch every single one of these videos.
"Airfoil doesn't matter - all you need's an angle of attack"
- Samm Sheperd (RIP)
at the speed that thing files... that statement is like 95% correct😂😂😂
6 months you have kept this footage away from us, damn that's a long time
Yeah you are right
Very interesting. And hats off to the lady that was so understanding and let you on her property.
My Phone: "rctestflight uploaded a new video"
Me: "GimmE ThAt!"
Dude, all of this time I thought you were the voice in the music! Awesome videos & music. :-)
@rctestflight use diamond shape, full square area, than just half, and it gets stability by tilting the square 45 degrees, plus its highly maneouverable
Oi there’s no such thing as a diamond shape it’s a rotated square!
@@trevorcompton9186 nooo its double triangle there you goo dude
@@d4ro nooo it's a symmetrical lozenge
@@superdupergrover9857 yeah but your nose isnt symmetrical, at all
Looks like a good idea.
7:30 I was not ready for this..laughed way too hard.
He sings in every video 😂👍
I'm never disappointed when i come to this channel, good job man
Glad to see you're back at it fella. Loved watching this project and now we get to do it all over again - thank you thank you thank you ! :)
5:20 dude, did you just massacre a pumpkin or what happend to your hand :D
Glad someone else noticed that
Its probably from the Pulse Jet Pumpkin video from a few months ago haha
I loled at that, it was just so random haha.
I really enjoy these RC solar planes. Keep it up Daniel! I would love to see the super efficient carbon fiber one.
"..it's a pizza-box, harvesting electrons, flying through the atmospheeere...🎶🎵.."
dope song, but I think "harvesting photons" is more appropriate
Love this. There are a lot of airfoil oriented websites that use a lot of math to describe airfoils. But you can fly with a sheet of plywood tilted slightly. The airfoil adds a bit of structure to the wing, but 90% of lift comes from pressure on the bottom of the wing (at slow speed, studied in the 1920's); of course, a better wing results from a slip streamed airfoil. It would be nice to again check on the advantages of the airfoil during varying speeds and directions to determine what fraction of lift Bernoulli vacuum contributes) I suspect the vertical tails on your original may have helped with flight stability.
Can't wait for the aerodynamic solar glider! I think there's an optimum somewhere... Solar Impulse only did 1:30. Perhaps minimum sink is more important than glide ratio for surviving the night?
I'm jealous of people that live in such beautiful places like you do. What a nice little town in a valley.
16:20 based on some quick searches, it looks like the modules you picked likely do a sort of fake "MPPT" that is really a target set point for the input voltage, rather than true tracking. Basically, if the panel says peak efficiency at X volts, you tune the MPPT knob so that the input stays at X volts (which is not actually the MPP in all cases). It also looks like they have knobs for setting the desired output voltage (which I assume you set correctly), but also max output current, which you'd probably want to leave wide open for your purposes. With proper adjustment of the MPPT and output current, you might be able to get more performance out of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Genasun still beat them, even with said tweaks.
agreed.. I also have the exact same "mppt" module, which doesn't really do the tracking part. Already tested, it just maintaining fixed input voltage.
Hi, great work and video there.
.
Just a little suggestion -
You can mount the motor and only 1 battery more far from the centre of gravity and it could work.. In that case we will not need the extra weight and you should have kept the vertical stabilizer, may in a different orientation.
I have two ASW28 gliders.
Your system for them was my inspiration.
I'm going long range fpv
Reminds me of the IFO(indoor flying object) which was a flying wing park flyer/mini IFO for indoors made from carbon spar bent in a U shape for the flying wing and covered with ripstop nylon. They were indestructible and I'm positive 99% sit collecting dust rather than having been crashed and thrown away. They were highly aerobatic as well...really weird they quit selling.
Love the channel. I've been watching for years and I love the content.
Quick idea I have for your solar planes, I'd recommend trying/testing using non glare acrylic or anti-reflective glass glazing on the solar panels to increase the solar input on the panels.
Not sure how much, if at all, this would help. But I'd like to see it tested and if there are any notable benefits.
GREAT PROJECT! I have thoughts! 1. Give it a boom and tail; it'll fix stability issues and give you finer control over CG. The elevons evidently give enough elevation authority... maybe try just a rudder on that tail? Or, since you already have the mixing, try a V-tail! 2. How about some dihedral? I appreciate you'd have to rework the elevon linkages for clearance, but it should really help with glide stability.
I remember when I bought my first drone it was a parrot ar it was really shitty controls wise and on the 3rd time flying it, it lost connection and just kept going up into the sky to never be seen again
I had one with a sensor issue...took off on me by itself, last seen heading south over lake Ontario towards Buffalo NY.. never seen again
Haha always set your failsafe and be ready to hit a kill switch. It sucks watching your kit hit the ground from a 100ft but you atleast het your electronics back
That said. We probably all lost a drone before learning the failsafe lesson
Had one of those Cox helicopters... After many flights in a huge school field, it finally went up, up , and away. Never to be found.
That is sweet, with better areo dynamics and with dose pannels will be awesome. Also I'm using 2 stratus LEDs as fog lights for my car nice and bight still working with the 2nd controller I bought it with, 3 years and still going strong Pal. Only use them in the back roads with no on coming cars.
You need the fins, make them stronger for landings and put them up side down.
Would love to see you pull off an Alien UFO trick, while catching people and their reactions on camera. I know it's kinda off topic for the channel, but these things tend to go viral and may bring more to the channel.
I am sure you'd create something incredible that would fly on its own at night
This is a miracle, I literally just finished the long range autonomous boat video.
Keep it up man.
The song was the best part not going to lie. You have a wonderful voice :-)
The song was beautiful.
Now imagine if Colin had a laptop to record on lol
The background songs should be on spotify....soo hilarious yet soothing yet satisfying....we love you bro...
That was a surprise - you’re a pretty good singer!
Damn first the pumkin hand at 5:20. Then the damn nice song at 7:30. This video already made my day!
This shows a good reason to put a radio beacon on your stuff, and get/make radio direction finder antenna IMO
Everything is getting better with this channel! The songs are just awesome touch :D
Your channel entertains me and stimulates my brain. Thank you.
Barometers are all over the place when getting sunlight. Keep them under foam an in the dark. Foam alone normally does not get it done. Sorry for my English.
Haha. You got me qot me with that song @7:40 You are a legend!
I have always enjoyed to see how creative you are and how well you explain different concepts. Keep up the good work and two thumbs up !!!!
5:22
So are we just going to brush over the whole "being covered in pumpkin innards" thing?
I am so happy you wrote that song in the middle. Great videos man!
I love the songs and that plane can fly it just needs more stability and the better charge controller
Those dump "manual-MPPT" controller are awesome for their price, they turn on by themselve with little power if the voltage difference to output isn't that big.
They also feature constant-current and constant-voltage adjustable which is also very convenient and makes them very versatile.
Maybe not obvious but you have to manually track the MPP yourself.
Downside is if manual MPPT adjustements is set to high, it may cut off power to soon, so maybe choose a voltage slightly below MPP incase for slightly less sunlight.
Rctestflight Your Videos are Awesome and Unique. Love Your videos from Pakistan 🇵🇰❤️.
That song was totally unexpected but completely welcome. Nice work!
These inventions have “real” world use!
I could totes see this being used as a mapping drone for research expeditions. Maybe I should build a prototype because I always wanted to go on one xP
Sweet video and great song, nice to meet the person behind the songs at the end there! My two cents: I feel like it's worth lingering a bit longer at the "less aero efficiency, more cells" end of the spectrum, especially given that even this attempt would have been a pretty sprightly performer with just a better charge controller. A fairly shallow-sweep, cropped delta would yield a better aspect ratio than the rectangle here, not to mention a less inherently "flexy" planform. Yes, you'd lose a bit of cell-placing area from having a diagonal leading edge, but likely no more than you lost from the big KF step on this one. I feel like you could maybe even fit a few more cells on your elevons, if you had some little flexible leads to connect them across the hinge line. I also suspect the chunky full-thickness trailing edges would have contributed a fair whack of drag, maybe half an amp's worth or so - thinning them down could be a low-hanging-fruit performance gain. Could also go a lower-kV motor and bigger prop? That usually pushes up the grams-per-watt efficiency too.
photons flying through the air, instead. Electrons are just 'energized' in the solar cells. Great flying solar panel though!
The wing needs more torsional rigidity. Every time the speed went up the aero forces over powered the wing's stiffness and the control surfaces began acting like trim tabs. That resulted in reversal of roll control as speed went up. The strakes fixed the issue for pitch, but not roll.
7:15 in .... Love the song. Made my day.
I sing my swears at my projects. (to cover my frustration) .
It may not be efficient and it is not pretty but it is a step forward to solar plane realization. Good job Sir! Hope to see more theory being proven in practice. Keep it up.
This reminds me of the first drone flight in my uncle's backyard. Little I knew that the cellphone tower next to his house would take over control! It flew straight out of sight! I searched about for an hour and then I found it. Out of sight it had taken a nose dive into the bushes, so it even had a soft landing. Yeah be careful with cellphone towers when you take your drone out for a flight, it might end like my adventure.
my dad bought me my first 4 channel helicopter when i was 8, we took it to our grandparents house and turned it on.
My dad wanted to fly it in but as soon as he turned the thing on it flew straight up atleast 30 meter and then flew full speed forward...
we searched the entire neighborhood, and the nice neighbord offered help, but never found it again...
Very Cool! Thanks for sharing.
BTW, suspecting your Barometer was in the pressure wake of your high-alpha leading edge, which could cause the odd altitude variations ....
10/10 music production. lyrics are always epic
This channel is going to grow quickly now that people are finding it. Awesome videos.
Putting the battery further into the front would enable putting less weight on it. Yay!!! efficiency!!!
The way it just flapped around! Insane! I can't believe it could fly!
Ah yes, a solar planel
You could install a marco polo beacon on your plane to make it easier to find it in woods, brushes and whatever else nature throws at you. I've been using those to recover high power rockets in corn fields :)
Another RC plane song, I love it!
I still watch your videos from when you were little. Great job !
I can see where this is inevitably leading......A record attempt at 24 hours constant flying...yes that means only battery power through the night..
bring a giant searchlight and fly it upside-down
Here in North Norway we have now daylight for 2 months, sun do not go down because it is north of the polar circle...
Daylight in June in this area is 18 hours, so only need ~6 hours of battery.
ie: 5 Ah * 6 ... or about 6 batteries worth.
Record is already almost 39 hours
@@keithb6717 ~6 hours of battery would imply 48, or more hours possible. Weather then becomes major factor.
Alternatively a combination of solar and wind, aka ridge soaring would work too. ;)
Put those support strips on top of the wing and shape them like an airfoil. Then glue a super thin plank of foam board to that so you have an actual wing. That should 10x your lift, strength, solar output and solve all your stall problems in flight
these sountracks are perfect!
Get a T12 size fluorescent light tube cover, split it lengthwise and use part of it for a lightweight aero cover for all the electronics on top. Form some foam into half cones for the ends.
Great background music during the flight
Love the song! I've been waiting for this video since the last one about your solar plane. Keep working on cool stuff and good music!
Technical question: Do you recommend using a BMS between MPPT and the battery, since the battery cells are constantly being charged by the PV ? Especially if you think on the long run?
A bms is almost always a good idea. Lost efficiency is worth it.
The barometer may have odd airflow- but also they get totally messed up by sunlight penetrating their holes. Cover that mother up. Awesome song.
I love the music! Get that man a laptop so he can "clear his mind" and create more music! Lol.
Hahaha, *_It's he dump truck of the solar plane world._* Great vid!
Suggestion: Cantilever the motor/battery out in front, on a spar, until you get the CG where you want it without dead weight?
Greatest song of all time
I think it's awesome you got a sheet of foam to fly controlled. I've carried this stuff in the wind and had it break into many pieces and blow away... None however with the grace and style as your foam pieces.
Pov; you clicked on the video to see a infinite flying plane
I really like the big inefficient method. Would love to see you actually try with that design and get the cg right
5:21
I repeat, you are not a pumpkin proctologist no matter what your diploma says.
Another spar perpendicular in the front to relocate the battery/motor/charge controller, and one more to stiffen the back and I say you'd have a very solid piece of aircraft there.
Perhaps relocating the electronics underneath too? to keep them from unnecesary solar exposure.
That's cool you fly out of Woodinville, I'm in Bothell and used to fly EDFs at 22 acres like 10 years ago.
Super smart. Connecting a light to load to protect the battery was really smart
You could consider a forward swept wing for CG. And an airfoil to reduce wing incidence ;-)
good luck!
As always a great technical video on your latest designs and tests.
I always enjoy learning from you!!!
Thank you
So close to having it work. The problem with stability/control was classic example of control reversal, with the control surface generating a moment that twists the wing in opposition the the change in lift provided by change in profile. Being a flying wing the roll and pitch issues were connected to this one issue. At low speed the twist was low enough to retain control, at medium speed the control would have diminished to zero and high speeds the deflection will cause control reversal.
The solution would be to create a more torsionally stiff wing. A planer wing made of foam won't have much torsional stiffness. A better alternative would be to use depron sheets to create an upper and lower surface with span wise spars and ribs holding the profile. It should be possible to achieve better stiff and aerodynamics with the similar weight. Alternatively you probably could retrofit the existing wing with some combination of diagonal and carbon fibre rods.
The other improvement would be to create a long fuselage to get CoG further forward without needing the extra weight.
With these change I have little doubt it'd flying well and have great duration.
Whaaat watchiing this guy for the first time.. was thinking, how cool is plane.. then he starts to sing.. blown away lol
Good initiative, song was good. Boy you are exemplary. You use so many gadgets to study such small solar flat board. That's impressive.
Came for the plane, stayed for the music. Can’t wait for the full album to come out.