Building a Solar Plane

DISCLAIMER: This video is purely for entertainment value. Personal use of video content is at your own risk. Recreations of experiments, activities and projects are the sole legal responsibility of the person(s) involved in replicating them. I can not be liable for any information or misinformation, wrongful use, damage to personal property, death or any circumstances that result from replication of any projects seen. Be safe!

[Project-Air]

We went from zero solar experience to... less than zero! Can't wait to start on the Solar 3 for the next video. 😎☀

[whatsthematter]

I'm surprised it managed to fly in the UK weather! Great job!

[DJFelixChester]

Honestly it always makes me feel normal and human when I see people make the same kinds of mistakes on projects that I know I would make. “Did you put the very sensitive gps right next to the powerful spinning electromagnet” definitely sounds like something I would do without even realizing.

[rctestflight]

It flew so majestically! Can't wait to see version 2

[AeroStuffFPV]

Really exciting to watch you start a Solar Powered RC Airplane! Love it.

RCTestFlight had a similar overcharging issue with the same Genasun GV-5 Charger > The Charge-Cut-Off feature of the charger to the battery is done with the Ground Connection (instead of positive connection) and only works if it's directly connected to the battery ( seperated from FC, Power Meters, etc) Otherwise, it'll still charge the battery through an "indirect" connection to the ground wire of the battery and overcharge it.

He explains it clearly in his "Solar Plane V4 Cross-Country Waypoint Mission" video at 6:37



Patiently waiting on Mk.II !

[bigvideoenergy]

Doing this in the UK is a mission on its own

[sakarrc]

A word of advice for Arduplane.
For planes you don't need compass at all (it will drift and only generate heading errors and AHRS miscalculations.) AP algorithm calculates heading best based on IMU and GPS coordinates. Turn off for the next projects. Also add good caps on the ESC and servos to clear up the noise.

[christophdunkel]

Oh no, sorry for your loss.
Having built myself a similar but smaller solar plane and even built my own mppt controller, flightcontroller etc., happy to help you out whenever you have a question or need assistance.

One thing, make sure the winglets do not cover your solar cells at any time as your output will be as low as the lowest cell is generating in your serial cell configuration.

Regards, Chris

[Pete-tqin]

It’s a misconception that, due to the lack of tail surfaces, a flying wing has less drag than a conventional aeroplane. The nose down pitching moment caused by the wing camber has to be countered somehow in all aeroplanes and due to the relatively short moment arm over which the countering force can be applied on a flying wing, the induced drag is proportionally higher.

If you want to see what an aircraft designed for maximum efficiency and low drag looks like, take a look at a competition sailplane.

I really enjoy your videos and wholly approve of the recent addition of your lovely assistant. You’re inspiring the next generation of engineers and inventors, keep up the great work.

[initialb]

To any DIY person reading this, be careful when handling solar cells in arrays while unloaded ( not connected to any controller or load), they can build up a fairly high (unloaded) voltage that can give you quite the zap if you close the circuit with your body ! Obviously tiny current but also, feels like a couple 1000 volts, similar to a static shock . It can pinch is all i'm saying

[stuartrockin]

This is absolutely inspiring. My nephew watches your videos with me when he's over. His enthusiasm and fascination are palpable.

Because of you, he has such a huge interest in RC vehicles, AI, and engineering.

[ellafoxoo]

I'll be honest I usually skip the ad spots, but this one was actually something I've been hoping for. Interesting to see from Solidworks!

[CheckEmGG]

As someone who actually works on these large scale HAPSs it's fun to see hobbyists run into some of the same problems we've discovered and how ya'll mitigate.

because building a purely solar powered plane isn't hard enough, you do it in Britain... that's the spirit!

[dutchfpv]

I think you used common ground.
The MPPT switches with ground so when you use the negative as a common the panels would never stop charging and bypass the MPPT. I think this will solve your charging problem.
Keep up the good work its awesome to see😊

[LearnChess]

for the next project, try making a launch system to make launching these larger planes easier

[Dmitry_IMHO]

20:54 this is why checklists are existing

[diywithhaz]

I’ve seen this done before by rc test flight but it’s stilll really cool to see you do it too!

[abhizz]

Infinite power. Well done flying in that poor sunlight it did a great job 👍

[Pale_Kingg]

ProjectAir in 2050: "So today we will be building and launching the Arsenal Bird"