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Solar Plane Breaks Endurance Record

Posted by timothy on from the never-even-been-awake-that-long dept.

calmond writes with this excellent snippet from CNET News: "QinetiQ Group PLC claimed Sunday that its propeller-driven aircraft called Zephyr flew for 83 hours and 37 minutes non stop, more than doubling the official world record set by Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk in 2001. The Zephyr is much different from the Global Hawk, which is about the size of a fighter and requires runway for taking off and landing. Zephyr, on the other hand, is an ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber aircraft that weighs less than 70lbs and is designed to launch by hand. The little aircraft flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon arrays covering the aircraft's paper-thin wings. It is powered day and night by rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries that are recharged during the day using solar power."

2 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Re:FIRST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Wow I wouldn't brag about the size of that, man.

  2. Re:...and this isn't a new one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Just get the chinese government to forge some papers saying the observer was there and everyone will be happy.

    The Olympics still piss me off. What about them faking the fireworks show. This is supposedly the master race for inventing and making fireworks, and they have to fake the Olympic fireworks show. Pathetic. Maybe we need to delve deeper in whether they really invented gunpowder. There's been some debate already.

    Fuck the chinese government. A true disgrace to it's people.