Solar plane lands after two-week flight

by Sean McLachlan on


A week ago we reported on the Zephyr solar airplane flying nonstop for a week. Yesterday it landed safely after flying nonstop for two weeks, achieving the goal its designers set for it.

The unmanned drone runs on efficient solar cells along its wingspan that charge batteries to keep it running through the night. Sunny skies over Arizona helped boost its power. Engineers hope that it will be the first “eternal plane”, never having to land. Qinetiq, the UK defense firm that designed it and flew it over a US military base, said there was no need for it to land yesterday but that it had proven its worth and is now ready for production.

The US military is interested in using it for military purposes, but Qinetiq is also pointing up the plane’s scientific and commercial possibilities.

The previous endurance record for an unmanned drone was 30 hours, 24 minutes. A manned solar plane, the Solar Impulse, recently flew through the night on a 24-hour flight.

Photo courtesy Qinetiq.

Review: KiwiChoice U-Powered solar battery charger

by Scott Carmichael on

Keeping your devices powered when traveling is often a challenge. On many trips, it involves finding a power outlet, on some trips you may need to resort to using a battery backup pack, but some destinations may even stretch your batteries to the limit.

On those trips, you’ll need to find alternative power sources – and one of the easiest to tap into is the sun.

The KiwiChoice U-Powered solar battery charger is exactly what you need in those situations. The U-Powered charger is several devices in one – a 2000mAh battery pack, a solar charger and a USB power kit.

The kit comes with everything you need for your gadgets – the unit itself, a carrying pouch, car charger, wall/AC charger, USB power cord and an assortment of power tips. With this arsenal of chargers, you can charge your gadgets off AC power, car power, battery power or solar power. The power tip assortment supports everything from mobile phones to the iPhone. With its mini and micro USB plugs, it covers almost every current phone on the market.

As an added bonus, the U-Powered even offers a very bright 3-LED flashlight. On the side of the U-Powered is its charging port – this port uses the included charging cable. Plug one end into a USB charger, like the included AC or DC chargers, or your computer. This charges the internal 2000mAh battery pack. Turn the cable around, and it is ready to charge your gadgets. On the back of the unit are three strong magnets, which means you can stick it on a metal object to keep it in sight of the sun.

The USB port on the U-Powered is a normal plug, so if none of the 11 power tips fit your device, simply use the USB cable it came with.

The 2000mAh battery pack is sufficient for at least one and a half full charges on most devices, up to two or three on smaller electronics like an iPod. The solar panels can recharge the batteries when they receive around 17 hours of direct sunlight, and a green LED light shows when the panels are working.

All in all, I really like this little charger. It is a compact battery charger when you just need some juice on the road, and it can recharge itself almost anywhere you go. The best part of this product is actually the price – at just $49.99 it is about $30 cheaper than most other solar/battery products. You’ll find the U-Powered at KiwiChoice, where you can also learn more about its features and device compatibility.

Solar plane flies nonstop for a week

by Sean McLachlan on


We recently reported on the historic flight of the Solar Impulse, the first solar-powered plane to fly through the night. Now another barrier has been broken. The Zephyr solar plane has flown nonstop for seven days.

Unlike the Solar Impulse, which carried a pilot, the Zephyr is an unmanned drone built by the UK defense firm Qinetiq. Drones have seen extensive service in Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years but are hampered by the need to return for refueling and thus losing sight of targets. Drones that never need to land have an obvious advantage. The civilian potential is obvious too, with researchers already thinking up applications for using them for scientific observation.

This development also marks another step forward for potential solar-powered commercial flight. The Zephyr has solar cells along its 22.5 meter (74 ft) wingspan that drive the propellers and fill batteries that are robust enough to power the plane from sunset to sunrise. Will we one day see solar-powered commercial flights? It may be a long way off, but considering the rapid pace of technological change, it’s unwise to say that anything is impossible.

The Zephyr is still in the air near the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and its support team plans to leave it flying for another week.

Solar-powered plane flies at night

by Sean McLachlan on


An airplane that relies entirely on solar energy has flown for 24 hours straight, cruising along happily through the darkness and emerging into the dawn with three hours left in its batteries. Once the sun rose, of course, the batteries immediately began to recharge.

The Solar Impulse is the product of the same great minds that brought you the cuckoo clock–the Swiss! The entire wingspan is covered with 12,000 solar cells that power four electric engines. Average cruising speed is 70 km/hr (43.5 mph). You can see complete stats on the plane here.

The next step for the engineers is to make the next generation of the plane, one that will fly around the world by 2013. The Solar Impulse is not the first solar-powered airplane, only the first to complete a manned night flight. Scientists and engineers have been experimenting with solar-powered planes since the 1970s and manned flights since the 1980s. This new leap forward will add impetus to a field of study that has so far received little attention from the press.

While this technology is still in the experimental stage, the potential impact for the airline industry and the environment is obvious. Airline emissions pose a major environmental threat, and G8 leaders have called for a 50 percent reduction in airline emissions by 2050. That’s a tall order, but it looks like the Swiss have shown the way forward. Of course the Solar Impulse’s slow speed and small cockpit mean the age of solar-powered 747s is a long way off, think of it as the modern equivalent of the Wright Brothers plane. It was only a generation after Kitty Hawk that passengers started flying to international destinations.

Solar airship will fly from NYC to Paris

by Katie Hammel on

First, let’s just get this out of the way: it is not, I repeat not, a blimp. Whew! Okay. . . Turtle Airships (a Spanish company that seems to have some intense aversion to the word “blimp”) is working on an airship that will make the journey from NYC to Paris, powered predominantly by the sun.

The top half of the blimp airship will be covered in solar panels that will store energy in batteries and use it to power four electric motors. The craft will also have a biodiesel engine as a back-up so the ship can fly in bad weather and at night. It will be able to take off vertically, land on ground or in water, and travel at around 40 miles per hour in ideal weather (making for a very long Transatlantic journey).

The airship is having a bit of difficulty getting off the ground at this point though, due to lack of funds. Turtle Airships is working on a prototype and hoping that as buzz for the project increases, so will the financing. Once the cash comes in, they say they’re ready for lift-off.

Until then, you can indulge your Goodyear fantasies with Airship Ventures, which offers Zeppelin flights from several California cities, ranging from $199 to $600 per person.

[via Wired]