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About "reasonable flying time" - are there any options available to use solar panels? Most importantly are solar panels good enough to power the unit?
by wst_ 10y ago
About "reasonable flying time" - are there any options available to use solar panels? Most importantly are solar panels good enough to power the unit?
- Zaak 10y agoA quick sanity check is that there aren't many solar-powered flying creatures. A 15W solar panel is about three square feet, and probably weighs several pounds. A 15W quadcoptor is about two square feet and has a takeoff weight of less then three pounds. You might be able to carry a small solar panel as a backup in case the copter runs out of power in a remote location, but it would have to sit for quite a while before it's ready to fly again.
- detaro 10y agoOnly in massive sizes, and only for planes (vs rotorcraft): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/26/solar-impulse-plane-makes-history-completing-round-the-world-trip https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/26/solar-im... (something autonomous could of course be smaller, but still)