PV Gap

Bertha Said:

Could a plane be solar powered?

We Answered:

Potentially a very small, ultralight aircraft could be built that would fly, a drone wwith little or no weight, or passenger for that matter.

Poroblem is energy to mass ratios, the surfcae area you would need to generate enough electrical power to sustain flight, using any forseeable solar panel design, would weigh just too much. And adding more panels would only take you farther down the path of not getting off the ground instead of helping. If you wanted to store energy for later or emergency use, or during low or no sunlight, the battery weight would just make it even worse!

Gabriel Said:

what was the name of the solar powered plane that flew around the world?

We Answered:

The Zephyr flew for 80 some hours, but did not circumvent the earth,
The Path finder has been tested but its endurance is only about 14 to 15 hours, daylight limited with two to five hours on backup batteries.

Donald Said:

SOLAR POWER PLANE 5FT?

We Answered:

lol, that's a weird question

Sam Said:

How would i create a simple RC PLane Engine/Motor?

We Answered:

I would expect that any small electric motor made by a non-expert would be much heavier than buying a small, efficient motor of the right size and not work as well.
Basically, you need strong permanent magnets, a shaft to carry the propellor, and points to wind coils on the shaft. Each coil must be attached to contacts around the shaft which are matched to brushes so the coil is pulled toward the magnets when approaching and pushed when going away.
http://www.hb.quik.com/~norm/motor/
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/mot…

Derrick Said:

How can i build a plane or car that runs on solar power and water!?

We Answered:

You can, but it would be neither easy or cheap. Light weight is the key. Making most anything useful to run on water is all but impossible. It takes more energy to break down the water into hydrogen and oxygen than the use thereof would generate. There are solar powered cars and planes though already, experimental only though, not mass produced. I'm not sure that a "street legal" solar powered car has been done. Also, I'm going on the assumption that you mean a car or plane that can run continuously on its own solar power, not having to recharge for 3 days to get you ten miles. That would be relatively easy.

Sally Said:

if i had a solar powered plane how fast would i have to fly to stay in the sun?

We Answered:

at the equator, roughly 1,000 mph. Around New York's latitude, around 700mph

Chad Said:

Our class is trying to come up with a way to improve solar, ethanol, Hybrid,etc. powered planes. Any ideas?

We Answered:

From a practical standpoint only a plane that uses a liquid fuel like ethanol will work. All others will require too much weight such as batteries or will provide too little power like solar.

About all you can do is prove that fact that they really aren't practical. You might have a solar assisted glider. They could work but would have very limited use.