Solar plane stays aloft for 3.5 days - August 26, 2008
A solar powered plane has set a new record over the desert of Arizona, staying aloft for 83 hours and 37 minutes. Importantly, this means it stayed up for three nights.
The Zephyr beat a previous official world record for unmanned flight of 30 hours set by the Global Hawk plane in 2001 and also beat its own previous unofficial record of 54 hours. As this Zephyr flight does not meet all the requirements of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale the record remains unofficial, notes the BBC.
Although it might eventually be used for research purposes such as earth observation, those most likely to see the Zephyr first used commercially are those unfortunate enough to be in war zones. Its manufacturer QinetQ is a mainly military engineering company that was spun out of the British military a few years ago.
“In addition to setting a new unofficial record, the trial is a step towards the delivery of Zephyr's capability for joint, real-time, battlefield persistent surveillance and communications to forces in the field at the earliest opportunity,” says Simon Bennett, managing director of QinetiQ’s Applied Technologies business (press release).
Previously on Nature
Solar power: A flight to remember
Solar powered flight at night
