A Review of Solar-Powered Aircraft Flight Activity at the Pacific Missile Range Test Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. Meeting Paper AMS P8.3, Research Engineering, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

Ehernberger, L. J. and Donohue, Casey and Teets Jr., Edward H. (2004) A Review of Solar-Powered Aircraft Flight Activity at the Pacific Missile Range Test Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. Meeting Paper AMS P8.3, Research Engineering, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.

Full text available as: PDF - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer.

Abstract

Present solar-powered aircraft are extremely lightweight and are limited to slow speeds at takeoff, landing, and in-flight. Slow speed is an advantage for operational use in station keeping applications, communications relay, or special surveillance missions. Some margin between flight speed and wind speed is desired to allow positive airspace control of the flight track. One base of operations used for solar powered flight is the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on the west coast of Kauai, Hawaii. This location often provides acceptable wind speeds aloft as well as a high solar elevation angle during summer months. Companion papers in this conference emphasize low-altitude wind conditions on flight days at Kauai, Hawaii. This report reviews the development and progress of these aircraft to high altitudes and mission applications. Highlights of the peak upper-air wind speeds and atmospheric perturbations experienced on days of solar-powered aircraft flight are summarized.

EPrint Type:	Other
Subjects:	Aircraft/Project: Multiple Aircraft (01 - 09) Aeronautics: (05) Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
ID Code:	1207
Deposited On:	04 January 2007
Additional Information:	7 pages. 11th American Meteorological Society Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology, Hyannis, Massachusetts, October 4–8, 2004.