'SOLAR VOYAGER' EXPERIMENTAL SOLAR ENERGY POWERED FLYING MODEL

摘要

The main goal in the design and construction of the "Solar Voyager" was to obtain an experimental, solar energy driven, flying model capable of covering the distance between Metulla and Eilat (480 km) in one takeoff. The payload design for this model is 1.5 kg, which can be used mainly for telemetry and miniature CCD camera. The "Solar Voyager" will be guided by radio control by an operator in a road vehicle. Therefore, the flying route will be above existing, paved highways. The current paper describes the feasibility study, the aerodynamic design, the wind tunnel experiments and the design of the electric system converting the solar energy into electric power, which in turn drives the propellers of the model.