Citation
(1998), "Solar-powered wing", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770aad.019
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited
Solar-powered wing
Solar-powered wing
Engineers in California are developing an airplane capable of horizontal flight at 100,000 feet, far higher than any other craft before it. The vehicle is not a powerful jet but a lightweight, flexible flying wing powered by the sun. In its final form, the Centurion craft from AeroVironment Inc. in Simi Valley, California, will have a wingspan of 210 feet yet weigh only 1,350 pounds. The remotely piloted solar-powered plane is a purely rectangular flying wing no taper and no tail designed to carry sensors at high altitudes for long periods of time. The airplane, scheduled to be completed by 2000, is part of the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Programme at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Centre in Edwards, California, to develop high-flying, remotely piloted craft for scientific missions such as atmospheric sampling and earth sensing. A battery-powered quarter-scale model of the plane handled very well in tests. The Centurion design calls for a flexible, lightweight graphite epoxy structure with single-ply ribs and skin 0.0005 inch thick. The airfoil is similar to that on model airplanes, because Centurion's speed of just 170 miles per hour in the low density found at 100,000 feet is equivalent to the flight regime of typical radio-control model planes at sea level. Twelve propellers along the 8 foot-chord wing will be equipped with very wide blades, also designed for ultrahigh flight. Motors will run at just 11Ž2 horsepower at peak. Centurion will carry scientific payloads of up to 200 pounds. In early configurations solar cells, spread across the upper surface of Centurion's wing, will power the craft for 10-12 hour daylight flights. Eventually, protonexchange-membrane fuel cells could be added to extend flights for days, weeks, or even months. Centurion could act like surrogate satellites for cellular phones and other communications needs. A full-scale Centurion prototype will be tested on low-altitude battery flights and on solar-powered runs.