Conceptual Design of a Model Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

摘要

In recent news, there has been more conversation pertaining to solar-powered aircraft due to the flight of the Solar Impulse on July 8, 2010. Because of this, more technology and studies are needed to fully understand how solar-powered aircraft operate. Over the last fifty years, there have been more studies on solar-powered aircraft because of the negative environmental impact that commercial aircraft have. This paper will study a conceptual design of a model solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will have a wingspan no more than 7 meters and have a total mass of 10 kg, 2.27 kg of which will be devoted to payload. The UAV will be used to study wildfires specifically in California and will have the necessary equipment needed for such a mission, including a Global Positioning System (GPS) and cameras.