Renewable, Solar Glider

[scratchy]

Has any had any advances on someone creating a Solar Powered glider?
Would it be possible?
Has it been done?
With how inexpensive and light solar panels are, i'm sure making a 3m sail plane and running a small lipo or other and having it charged buy the solar panels....
Seems like a cool idea but is it realistic, what do you guys think?

 

[Balsa to Foam]

I found this.

Is that what you were thinking of?

 

[stay-fun]

Interesting, related threads:

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?9132-Solar-Pannel-Charging-Lipo-battery-in-flight
http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?9499-Solar-Rvelation!

 

[scratchy]

Balsa to Foam,

That's exactly what I was thinking about thanks for that. Looks like something that can be foamified i think.
Thanks stay-fun as well will have a look now

 

[TehMaxwell]

I believe there is already an article on FliteTest that has done this, Its called Solar Dreamship surprise or something! They could get flights of three hours on a good day!

 

[Craftydan]

On a "good day", most any well built glider can stay up indefinitely . . . and is "solar powered", it's just the "solar panels" are on the ground

Which does make me wonder . . . for these solar powered power gliders, how much time did the panels actually add to the flight?

 

[TTMR]

Well seems easy enough to figure if we knew the efficiency of the panels used and the surface area. Unlike a solar car this is likely possible given the large surface area of a glider type airframe and the low power required.