Soaring Longer on Sunpower

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The blog recently showed an Alpaero Exelec electric motorglider to which Francis Marlier of the ultralight club of Alsace, France, had taped 66 square feet of solar cells.  The Sunexelec that resulted has enhanced endurance, managing up to four-hour flights, although Francis does not indicate how much of that is soaring flight and how much powered. He reports, “Using SUNPOWER C65 solar cells which are encapsulated in modules of 20 or 15 cells. The total weight per wing of these modules is about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds). “I have used special 3M adhesive tape to fix the modules [which are 0.8 millimeters (3/64-inch) thick] directly on the wing skin. Special covers are put on the wings that I remove just before the take-off. During the flight there is no risk to damage the epoxy resin.” His airplane has a 60 Volt, 30 Amp-hour battery pack measuring 30 x 30 x 20 centimeters (11-13/16 x 11-13/16 x 7-7/8 inches) to power …