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Airbus' Solar-Powered Zephyr Smashes Flight Duration Record on Maiden Outing (newatlas.com)
A solar-powered aircraft from the European aerospace giant Airbus has completed a maiden flight lasting 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes. In doing so, the production model unmanned solar-powered aircraft set the record for the longest flight ever made by any aircraft. From a report: Originally built by British defence company Qinetiq and now owned by Airbus, the Zephyr aircraft is designed to soar through the stratosphere for months at a time by drawing on the power of the sun. It is similar to Facebook's now defunct Aquila aircraft in this sense, and is hoped to one day provide satellite-like services with the flexibility of an unmanned drone. The latest version of the Zephyr weighs just 75 kg (165 lb), but is able to carry up to five times its own weight. Flying above weather and other air traffic at 70,000 ft (21,300 m), the aircraft can be controlled from the ground and has the potential to carry all kinds of payloads, be they to collect high-resolution imagery, provide voice communications or, as was the idea with Aquila, beam internet service to underserved areas. [...] It took off from Arizona on the 11th of July and has only now come down to Earth, a total of 25 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes later. This was the first outing for the production model Zephyr S, and the team is already setting its sights on its next voyage.
Couldn't last another 3 minutes, huh?
The article says it can carry 27 tons of cargo. Don't you read?
People who care about science and technology I guess. Those who are only interested in themselves may be less inclined...
Its entire purpose is not to carry cargo, it's to stay aloft for long periods of time beyond the abilities of traditional aircrafts for purposes such as observation, communications, and reconnaissance. Unlike satellites it is much cheaper, can be easily diverted to a different locale, and requires no extensive preparations to launch. It isn't supposed to carry even a person: you would not want to be in an aircraft for 26 days in a stretch.
How many tons of cargo does the Zephyr carry?
According to the article summary:
The latest version of the Zephyr weighs just 75 kg (165 lb), but is able to carry up to five times its own weight.
So around 825 lbs.
It is not the longest flight ever, by any aircraft, by time. The record is over 64 days, 64:22:19:05 to be exact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... It looks like it has the unmanned record though. Still a cool achievement having a solar powered plane in the air for that long, and has potential as a satellite replacement.
Over 0.4 tons is highly impressive for a craft which weighs no more than 75kg.
This technology will become more capable over time, but already that is a useful load for a range of purposes. Not everything requires a 747-8F Freighter. Sometimes you would rather stay up longer.
There's potential for this to be an inexpensive communications repeater or used for satellite photography (google maps would probably love something like this to keep up to date land imagery). I don't see it being too useful for military because it's too light to have any real defence and it would probably be highly vulnerable to solar flare disruption events. (Probably fry and crash it).
That isn't anything near the longest flight made by any aircraft. This wikipedia page shows six flights that were a longer duration.
Seems like the airplane landed 3 minutes earlier than they planned :)
you would not want to be in an aircraft for 26 days in a stretch
I wouldn't want to be either. But These guys did it for a little shy of 65 days in a Cessna almost 60 years ago. So this is not exactly the record for longest continuous flight of any aircraft.
From the article: "The latest version of the Zephyr weighs just 75 kg (165 lb), but is able to carry up to five times its own weight."
On planet Earth, 165lbs * 5 is NOT 27Tons.
Re-read, or re-compute, or both.
Like all solar powered planes, this thing is a VERY large, extremely flimsy, fragile, very slow, over-expensive model airplane. Not for use with weather or turbulence or in any situation where anything important is at stake.
I think this is non-refueled flight.
Don't you mean almost continuously refueled? Because that's what a solar panel on the drone is doing. It may not be a liquid store of energy, but it sure as hell is replenishing a store of energy.
Ohhh, you must have very big brain! Nothing, we are very simple people with very small brain. Mr. Hosik's brain is especially small! So small. We cannot achieve so much with such small brain, but you American wow, brain so big, so big brain!
Don't you mean almost continuously refueled? Because that's what a solar panel on the drone is doing.
Not at night.
It took off from Arizona on the 11th of July and has only now come down to Earth, a total of 25 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes later.
They missed their target by 3 minutes obviously ;-)
who cares
Your local police department.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Balloons and blimps have also stayed aloft for longer than 27 days. The claim, as written in TFA, is wrong.
Sure, you can qualify if by saying "without refueling" or "heavier than air" or "powered flight" or whatever, but TFA doesn't say that. It says "any aircraft", which is baloney.
can it carry a high powered laser to melt the dissidents or bombs to blow them up? Lots of potential here.
So refueled 50% of the time? Still sounds like refueling to me, pedant.
Gonna figger out a way to sell these, and get a nuke down in size, then we'll be all set
In 1995 to the engineers at Edwards Air Force Base. "What is the longest duration flight you have going? A month?"
I got the ole "No comment" with a wink.
My gut tells me the US has an aircraft out there from years ago that has already done the Airbus feat.
But, regardless, it is a neat trick.
Caution: Contents under pressure
I've found video of takeoff, but not of landing. I see no landing gear. Does landing also involve a bunch of people running and holding it?
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Are you really so completely mentally compromised that in the world between your ears EVERYTHING is about President Trump?
Did it ever occur to you that those of us who opposed the previous president were every bit as offended by his actions and policies and obvious hate for us and this nation (NOBODY brags that they want to "fundamentally transform" something they love or even like) as you are by Trump? WE maintained our sanity. WE did not start fires, smash windows, demand that Obama supporters be silenced, start flash mobs in restaurants to bully Obama supporters or employees of Obama. Even the most outspoken opponents of the Obama admin (the TEA Party people) cleaned up after themselves at protests and did not block freeways or occupy federal offices even as Obama used the IRS to persecute them (something the IRS admitted to under oath in congressional hearings).
The way Trump seems to be living in your heads and driving you to derangement is just amazing -- and by reacting to him as you do you only entertain a large part of his base.
Grow up. Learn to be civilized. Drop the Hate. This article about the Airbus plane had NOTHING to do with Trump, his policies, or his supporters.
IFS Zephyr carries a few dozen passengers including the protagonist.
Ezekiel 23:20
75 * 5 = 375. 375kg is over 0.4 tons? Math is hard.