SolarStratos Construction to Begin in January

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Just as we have competing teams working out their plans to cross the Atlantic on electrically-powered wings, several projects are aiming high, attempting to reach altitudes normally achieved only by SR-71 pilots.  With balloon jumps topping 130,000 feet and the Perlan Project in final stages of construction for test flights early next year, the latest entrant in stratosphere-busting climbs will attempt the mission on batteries and solar power. Raphael Domjan, a self-described “eco-adventurer” and founder of Mission SolarStratos, will attempt by 2017 to top 80,000 feet in a two-seat, twin-motored craft designed and built by Calin Gologan and his PC-Aero team.  The airplane, a long-winged derivation of Gologan’s Elektra Two Solar, will rely on recent developments between Gologan and his American Partner, George Bye.  They’ve formed the American Electric Aircraft Corporation, dedicated to building, testing and certifying a two-seat trainer. Solar Stratos has a 24.4-meter (80.8 feet) wing, 7.4 meters (9.84 feet) longer than that on the longest-span Elektra Two.  …