Five Solar-Powered Airplanes That Changed The World
Solar power is absolutely amazing. From cloud backup solutions to entire data centers, it seems everything can be powered with solar, even airplanes! Solar power has made a revolution in the field of aviation technology, and when it comes to aircraft, it is one of the biggest innovations. Solar powered planes have changed the way of flying and have given a wonderful and amazing flying experience. Solar powered planes are not only environment-friendly but also save the owner’s money. From so many years, researchers are developing pioneer solar-powered aircrafts that have changed the world of aviation. Here we will discuss the five aircraft approach for solar powered planes:
Hy-Bird Currently, a project is on its path to create an aircraft that can run only on renewable power sources and this is called Hy-Bird aircraft, the aircraft building team is expecting to manufacture an airplane that can fly around the globe using hydrogen and photons.
As this plane will not emit any harmful gasses, this makes it the most eco-friendly aircraft. This aircraft will operate primarily on photovoltaic cells to get the required power for the plane to operate.
Solong Solar powered plane
The aim of the SoLong manufacturers is to develop a plane that has a very long life and can run for extended years. Photon receptors are placed on the wings of this plane so that it can absorb the sunlight that can be converted it into energy required to operate the aircraft. This plane is unique as it not only converts the solar energy into fuel but also has a storage capacity to absorb solar energy so that aircraft continues its flight during night also.
Pathfinder
The Pathfinder was first developed for a top secret military mission. The purpose of Pathfinder is to record the lengthy scrutiny from high altitudes. With the termination of the project, the Pathfinder was kept in storage for long years. After some years, in 1993, the BMDO (Ballistic Missile Defence Organization) open the aircraft and started making amendments. The team reduced the motor count, and the battery was merged with the solar power source.
Centurion
The Centurion is very much similar to Pathfinder, and it is also called the older brother of the first drone. Its wingspan can measure ninety-eight feet which is almost double than the Pathfinder, and the body is over two hundred and five feet appreciably solar powered Centurion longer. Like Pathfinder, it was also designed to carry out surveys from high distances. The government plans to produce a genetic copy of the Centurion to perform various purposes including scientific sampling, monitoring, etc. Once all the amendments have been made to this solar powered aircraft, it will be able to reside in the air for several days.
Zephyr
One more name to the family of solar powered aircraft is “Zephyr”. The technique uses integrate conventional solar energy and low drag aerodynamics. When it was initially tested, it performed immaculately and spent six hours in the air, which means it completed the maximum time limit for initial testing. Its photovoltaic wings and rechargeable batteries make it a sustainable airplane for several days at a time.