The world's largest solar aircraft

Original: white night Aviation Manufacturing Network

As the name suggests, solar aircraft is an aircraft that uses solar radiation as propulsion energy. The power plant of a solar aircraft consists of a solar cell pack, a DC motor, a reducer, a propeller and a control device.On July 26, 2016, the world's largest solar aircraft, "Sun Power", arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and completed the feat of flying around the world. Today, I will talk to you about thisNo reliance on fuel, no pollutants, and only solar energy to fly day and nightplane.

Sunshine PowerNo. 2 is the second solar aircraft made by Swiss Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. The first generation of Solar Impulse conducted long-distance flight tests in 2012 and 2013, completed a record of 1,116 kilometers of non-stop flights from Switzerland to Spain in 2012, and completed a flight test across the United States in 2013. "Sun Power 2" uses a structure that is generally similar to the previous work, but has been significantly updated in the core components.

Co-founder BertrandPicard and Andre Porschberg

The wingspan of "Sunshine Power 2" reaches 72 meters, wider than the Boeing 747, second only to the larger commercial passenger aircraft A380 (79.75 meters). The huge wings give "Sunshine Power 2" enough lift.

Sunshine PowerComparison of No. 2 with Boeing 747

"Sunshine Power No. 2" is only 2.3 tons, which is equivalent to a semi-family car. This is mainlyThanks to the carbon fiber honeycomb interlayer material used in the fuselage skeleton, this material has only a weight density.25 grams per square meter is 3 times lighter than paper, but the strength all meets the mechanical requirements of the aircraft. The surface of the aircraft uses flexible skin, and the main goal is weight loss.

The carbon fiber material used in the leading and trailing edges of the aircraft has better bearing capacity than ordinary materials. The cabin of the aircraft uses thermal insulation materials. Part of the material of the cockpit shell uses polyurethane foam. In the design of door locks and portholes, the aircraft uses polyurethane composite materials. Some polyurethane foam is also used for battery insulation outside the cockpit. At the same time, the fuselage is also equipped with a silver coating raw material, which can protect solar cells, which were once used in electric vehicles.

In addition to the light body,The power system of "Sunshine Power 2" is also very technologically compatible.Installed on the wingsMore than 17,000 solar cells provide power to the aircraft.Each of these panels is only thick135 microns, equivalent to a strand of hair in humans.

The upper surface of the wing is covered with a partition composed of sealed solar cells, and the lower surface is a thin layer of relatively strong flexible. Every interval within the wing140 carbon fiber ribs are provided in 50 cm (20 inches) to form an aerodynamic partition, while also for the firmness of the wings.

In the four engine pods under the wings, four new brushless DC motors are installed, and the power is increased toWith 17.4 horsepower, the steady speed of the propeller has been increased to 525 rpm, and the speed is increased to about 90 km/h.

exist"Sunshine Power 2" is equipped with an energy dispatcher. If one of the four engines of the "Sunshine Power" aircraft encounters a failure, the dispatcher can switch the energy supply from an insufficient power engine to a well-operated engine, thereby re-energizing the energy balance. The new DC electric cockpit has made a huge breakthrough in the weight reduction of electronic equipment inside the aircraft dashboard, and its weight has been reduced by 50%.

In order to meet the needs of day and night flight, the engine pod is installed633 kg lithium-ion battery. In this way, the electricity generated by the solar panel can be achieved in addition to providing its daytime flight, and nighttime flight can also be achieved. With energy reserves, the plane doesn’t have to worry about rainy weather.

The cabin of "Sunshine Power 2" is about 3.8 cubic meters, allowing pilots to place their seats flat when they are resting. There is a toilet device under the seat, which solves the problem of pilots going to the toilet. There are on-board devices such as calling, network and other equipment, and you can contact the ground at any time.

"Sunshine Power 2" uses human-machine interaction technology. When the pilot is tired, it can turn on the automatic flight mode without worrying about abnormal situations. It has telephone calls, networks and other equipment on the plane, and can contact the ground at any time. The aircraft can fly uncontrollably for 20 minutes. A control center in Monaco (a country in southwestern Europe) has operators and engineers monitoring the aircraft at any time. Support personnel will wake up the pilot if there is any situation.

In order to reduce weight, the aircraft does not have heating and pressure reduction equipment installed, and the pilot will face sub-zeroThe temperature difference between 30℃ and 30℃ changes. Both pilots were specially trained for this challenge, and with more technologically insulated flight suits, they were not worried about temperature and pressure.

For the visibility of the aircraft landing, Omega specifically provides"Sunshine Power No. 2" has developed a light landing system using LED lights. The system includes 16 landing lights, power cords, transformers and other components. The total weight does not exceed 2 kilograms and the total power is only 100 watts.

Sunshine PowerFrom the first flight to the completion of the global flight on the 2nd:

On June 2, 2014, Sunshine Power 2 successfully made its first flight in Payene, a city in western Switzerland.

On March 9, 2015, the Sunshine Power 2 solar aircraft started flying around the world from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

On April 21, Sunshine Power 2 arrived from Chongqing to Nanjing, the sixth stop of its global journey.

On May 31, the solar aircraft "Sunshine Power 2" set off from Nanjing for the United States.

On June 29, "Sunshine Power 2" took off from Nagoya, a city in central Japan, and flew to Hawaii.

The world's largest solar-powered aircraftAfter 118 hours of uninterrupted flight, "Sunshine Power" 2 landed at Honolulu Airport in Hawaii, USA at 5:51 local time on the 3rd.

On June 11, 2016, in New York, USA, the world's largest solar aircraft, "Sun Power 2", will leap into the Statue of Liberty and will land at Kennedy International Airport.

On June 23, 2016, the "Sunshine Power 2" solar aircraft finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean after 70 hours of flight and successfully landed in the Spanish city of Seville.

At 8:00 am on July 26, 2016, the world's largest solar aircraft, "Sun Power 2", successfully landed at the Abu Dhabi Airport, the capital of the UAE, completing the first feat of human solar energy flying around the world!

The "Sunshine Power" Global Tour 2 leaped through the four continents and two oceans on the earth throughout the journey, with a total flight distance of about 35,000 kilometers.

Picard said:"The significance of 'Sunshine Power 2' is not to build many commercial aircraft, but to show innovation and environmental protection concepts to the world through global flights." Poschberg also said, "This global flight is to convey a message to the world so that more people can see the potential of clean energy."
actually,"Sunshine Power No. 2" not only represents adventure, environmental protection and innovation, but also has huge commercial space behind it. It provides a test platform for the application of many new environmental protection technologies.