SolarStratos, a mission envisioned by Raphaël Domjan and an airplane designed by Calin Gologan, returns to the skies after suffering a literal break in its program in 2018. During a series of tests that put increasingly heavy loads on the wings, its left wing broke with what was called a “technical damage.” This type of breakage during stress testing is not uncommon, especially on what are special machines such as SolarStratos and Solar Impulse. Solar Impulse 2 suffered a similar break when its newly-designed wing was being tested. As noted, this type of setback takes the team back to the drawing board, but also besets them with new reflections on their ongoing decisions. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. “This pioneering spirit involves a real technological challenge, and takes us to unknown territories. Risks are an integral part of such a project, even if our objective is to anticipate them as well as possible; this is why …
Germany to Two Places in Austria – On Solar Wings
e-Genius spent July 4 crossing the Alps both ways from Germany to Italy, a first for a two-seat, battery-powered airplane. Although the Elektra One Solar from PC-Aero GmbH is lighter and seats only one, its flights starting two weeks before and ending two days before e-Genius’s journey are equally proud accomplishments. The outgoing flight started in Unterwössen, Germany on June 25, crossed over the Grossglockner and landed, according to PC-Aero’s description, “In the sunny town of Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria. The flight took around 2.5 hours. After the successful flight on the south side of the Alps, Elektra One Solar started [on its next trip] on 2 July (few days before the eGenius of the University of Stuttgart also flew over the alps) in quite difficult weather conditions. Despite headwinds and strong gusts the plane crossed the Alps at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters and landed after about 2 hours and 190 kilometers (117.8 miles) [in] flight, as …
EAS IX: Calin Gologan Talks SolarStratos
Calin Gologan, founder and CEO of PC-Aero GmbH, has many electric and solar-assisted aircraft flying right now, and is responsible for the design the Aero Electric Aircraft Company’s SunFlyer training airplane, 20 of which have been ordered by Spartan Aeronautical University. The initial Elektro One has flourished in a number of variants, including the SunFlyer, a two-seat, side-by side trainer developed with George Bye in Colorado. Another variant of that original design, Solar Stratos is destined to combine record-setting altitudes with scientific research. Its banner, “Manned Flight at the Edge of Space,” highlights the craft’s intended mission to reach 80,000 feet as its initial goal, a record that will be hard to beat. Its mission is also a research venture, with Calin serving as Chief Technology Officer of SolarStratos. The initiator of SolarStratos, Raphaël Domjan, is now paddling his way through an Arctic Passage in one of two solar-powered kayaks, accompanied by Anne Quéméré, described as a Breton sailor. Their …