Solar craft flies through two nights

[greekmath]

___.youtube.com/watch?v=ejXaAw­sIDoI&feature=player_embedded it DOES land you fools

[scolen3]

It looks like they are launching it using an RC radio, look at the guy in the white shirt standing there. Of course it is autonomous when it gets up.

[candlehawk]

anyone find a little irony in the title? =)

[Goftl]

yeah... you're right

[Ubinnhad]

Well if Elastic=Mightiness square centimetres then it could backfire, specially if it's leaded fuel running too rich because gravity rules OK

[Ubinnhad]

Relativistically would have to be greater than light speed, perhaps maybe I think so :)

[Goftl]

yeah... you're right

[Ubinnhad]

Brilliant idea!! If it flew against the rotation of the Earth would it then become a flying time machine?

[miraan786]

that looks so beautiful

[spretten]

same here

[spretten]

if this waqs AFV, the plane would do a loop right as they sent it off, and it would have hit him in the back of his head.. :D WHEE! :D

[remccs16]

doesn't look like the inflight movie would be very good

[e2e4ch]

It's pretty amazing what you can do with semiconductors nowadays. These things would be ideal robotic camera platforms. Once you make it past the more turbulent layers of our atmosphere, you could have what amounts to a free self powered low level satellite.

[twiggy180]

Two nights? It looked to me like 42 seconds.

42 seconds wasted of my life watching this crap.......

[bangalaheng]

hey peabrain u suppose they record 48 hours of it? retarded if you dun like then just fucking shut up pls dont post comments that ppl would not want to see

[twiggy180]

fuck of faggot

[bangalaheng]

i suppose is "fuck off" eh?...go back to grade one

[twiggy180]

whatever you think it is boy.

[Flyinhawaiian89]

twiggy you're fucking stupid. shut the fuck up.

[SarahJMcC]

lmfao what an idiot i bet you're 10 yrs. old x.X

[animalnt]

what a waste of money, like letting go of a helium balloon, but a very expensive one at that.

[wwwplayradioukdotcom]

How long were the night (dark) periods?

[OghamTheBold]

I bet the seats don't have individual headphone sockets

[bennettbuzz]

where did it land?

[Jpc118]

And as the 3 boys looked on, they realised their idea for a paper aeroplane had somewhere along the line, gone terribly right..

[KingOfTheDevil2]

NUTS!

[aznkid7777777]

I agree with those who say this will not be the future. I'm thinking electricity will be.

[maximald01]

Wow! Looks good! Hopefully this can be a real alternative to fossil fuel based aircraft in the near future! good work!

[soylentgreenb]

It's meant as a cheapo replacement for satellites. It's a giant wing that extremely light; it's not going to carry people.

[stevil2006]

looks like a stick man that got caught in a strong wind.

[happymana]

Interesting stuff.

[gloriatomoshimassu]

well if it doesnt obey or are monitored in land, it can affetc airplanes or any flying machine no? well also depends of how high it goes of course

[richj005]

i think maybe two or three look good, but when theres hundreds they look a bit awful.

[s3ansk1]

I dont think this is the future lol. very weak and limp plane.

[ceilingcatiswatching]

The first ever planes were "very weak and limp" they didn't just invent 747's straight away ;)

[bigfatbiffta]

Good idea but its crap really aint it. If i went to the airport to go on holiday and boarded a plane looking like that id be worried. And i would have died of old age by the time i got to my holiday destination.

[pardonmydutch]

Yeay!!! I've got 500 channel views thanks to you!

[richj005]

i think all cars should be hybrid, and all should have a solar panel.

who cares if wind farms dont look that good anywhere.

better than a destroyed planet.

[Hazadanub]

WTF???

[nl59]

as soon as solar power is more effieciently advanced then it can be used for UAV!

[theCHAD2006]

how am i supposed to ride that? hahaha

[soylentgreenb]

You're not. Radio equipment, cameras, measurement devices and other assorted electronics is the intended payload.

[bloggermouth]

Absolutely brilliant. Mass produced thin film solar and super capacitors are not too far off. Anyone who doesn't understand this achievement doesn't know what efficiency is.

[Zystus]

The government shot it down thinking it was a UFO. :o!

[imrosebudd]

Hmmm...interesting. Now if they can make cars do that I would be really impressed!

[Wilm0chimp]

i woudnt really call that a plane tbh - its some solar panels glued together with two propellers on the back, the whole thing being so light it barely needs any thrust to keep it airborne anyway

[fmd805]

thats a pretty cool accomplishment...could help in the further development of energy saving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), surrveillance planes, weather measuring devices etc....

[WWProductions62]

what happens when you add weight to such a plane? theres no way solar power could control a real jet

[Isoquant]

right... also, the earth is flat, man will never set foot on the moon, and 64k should be enough for anybody.

Way to be forward thinking there, Millikan.

[justingarak]

He is thinking forward. He is stating the obvious, that solar powered(green energy) applications have no real place in air transportation especially for the pentagon where it is most important. Also, this look more like green propaganda than scientific innovation.

[soylentgreenb]

It's not intended for people, it's an el cheapo satellite/weather ballon replacement. Besides, why would you want to travel at ~30 km/h anyway?

"...64k should be enough for anybody."

Gates never claimed this, it's just a funny rumour with no definite source. There's plenty of real things to get mad at him for, this isn't one of them.

[freyia969]

=]]]

[angelleftwing]

To be fair, that is not a plane. It looks like a canoe paddle with a TV antenna stuck to it.

[mrjubjub521]

it goes up 58,000 feet D:

[applep0w223]

why isn't this the most watched movie of the day.... no ever?!!!

because its not half naked and dancing like a mole

[galaxyyyyy]

I agree with you 100% :)

[chenjohn]

lol more like "flys over 42 seconds"

[qazax8]

and would YOU watch a video of a plane flying for two nights? yes? just to prove a point? well. some people.

[pepsiracer]

wats so great about that??

[greendayfantothemax]

awsome

[britoca]

fuck britney, THIS is amazing!

[thedancingpill]

LMFAO! xD

[scriptum60]

Quote of the Day, my friend! lol

[ShadowRocksMySocks]

cool! ^^

[BlackandWhiteAZN]

nice paper airplane

[Patopjo]

does anyone know how much it weighs?

[snowday60]

20 pounds

[thedancingpill]

only 20 pounds? jeez that thing looks freaking huge to be only 20 pounds but that is freaking cool!

[arocketsurgeon]

That's a lot smaller then the helios, which I think had the record before them, makes sense battery technology and photovoltaics are much better then they were a decade ago.

[lebam333]

what's the distance it traveled?

[thenerdhunter]

pretty cool good job who every made it

[onebluestone]

there is a great potential here. that's exciting!

[zippyzee]

fucking cool man

thats fucking bitchin

[Dragnet2121]

anyone else think that its the perfect weapon for soaring overhead and taking spy shots of opposing countries and enemies below? at night it would not be visible at all, and it's size and how thin it would make it hella hard to shoot down...

[uberwolf420]

Thats what spy satallites are for. If google earth is available to the public...imagine whats not.

[yammagata]

this is great!

[seanhive]

these things are so cool

[Napkins75]

Sorry but this is not the future, I can't speak for everyone else but you will have to knock me out of give me a sedative to get in a solar powered 747. Good in theory though.

[historywillabsolve]

i doubt this technology will ever be used for commercial flights with hundreds of passengers, more likely it will be something the military and scientists use.

[uberwolf420]

lol, I was thinkin the same thing history, unless we can muliple this power by 1000, we wont be using it for commerical flights.

[lcluis]

amaizing

[TOB1AS]

would be awesome to throw up your own solar plane cause nobody would be able to get it down until night

[greendazed86]

lol that's cool but i guess we shouldn't rely on any future solar-powered aircraft if we need to get somewhere in a hurry

[dreamhexagon]

pretty cool

[diazaamia]

Now they can watch us 24/7, forever! :D

[iron1215]

Must store enough energy to get it through the night. Cool.

[sysmg]

I wonder, does it store energy in batteries. Does it need to gain lots of altitude during the day and glide overnight losing altitude.  Or some combination of the two.

[iron1215]

Don't know. The video sure could use some commentary and a little more information of how it stays up for two nights.

[vw77]

Maybe it has a thermal "eye" to look for hot air currents to glide over at night?

[ronpack]

yes, to all your questions

[MagmaFox]

Fuucking OWNEEED!!! this is the future gentlemen, and women.

[DarkSteele]

Shit thats fast

[Ausbruch]

has the military got a hold of this yet?

[lotteryjerk]

Google the company that made it, QinetiQ, and you'll have your answer

[Chilldogg]

that's pretty cool!

[commment]

Wow !!! (and still people are starving)

[JeffreyOsb]

solving world hunger might be a bit more difficult than making a plane powered off of solar energy.

[01000001011100100111]

I doubt it, there is plenty of food to go around.

[JeffreyOsb]

That's actually a big misconception. The world does not produce nearly enough food to feed everyone on the world constantly. This is a big issue with the modern age and over population.

[hamsterpoop]

huh? wtf are you talking about...

[01000001011100100111]

I don't buy it to be honest. There are now more clinically obese people in the world than there are starving.

[scolen3]

I hope that was not a serious comment.

[01000001011100100111]

That there are more overweight people in the world than starving? It's a fact.

[monkybizzness]

If we could fly things on solar power, we wouldn't need to pay so much for fuel and could afford to buy stuff such as food for the iran such as and the africa

[Cssfiend]

and without using dental-floss fuel we would be making the world better such as and build our future for

[commment]

I personaly believe that..osama..we and the Iran and South- Africa..build a solar powered plane..and throw bread on everybody out of the plane for our future.

[hamsterpoop]

thank you very much miss south carolina

[JeffreyOsb]

Insulting someone who happens to know more about a topic than you isn't smart or wise. Go study a bit about world politics first. There is a very large concern among major governments that if the worlds population continues to grow at its current rate that food supplies will be extinguished well before the majority of us have time to die of natural causes.

[hamsterpoop]

the internets are a series of tubes...

[ronpack]

maybe instead of lawns with green grass, we should all become farmers

[JeffreyOsb]

If everyone grew some of their own food, it would help to prevent some of the problems that are coming ahead. I'm sure there will be a movement of something similiar just as there is with the "Green" movement now. Good comment.

[soylentgreenb]

JeffreyOsb, that's not a food problem. That's an energy, GHG and land-use problem. Specifically we need wast quantities of NG for producing N fertilizer; we need to mine and treat P fertilizer; we need to plow, sow, fertilize, spread pesticides(petrochemicals), harvest, prepare food/flour and transport it to where it is needed(refrigeration is common). Typical food costs more fossil fuel energy to produce than you get from eating it. Meat is even worse.

[acbage]

Intresting but if you really wanted to going some where you'd be better off walking, It'd be faster

[BlueanBlue]

Intresting.

[babyaiko]

THAT"S A FCUKING UFO

[bunqiejump]

If it was a UFO we wouldn't know what it is, however we do know what it is therefore it is not a UFO.

[babyaiko]

i don't know what it is so it's a UFO =P

[xvninjievx]

Well there are a few reasons for something like this. The foremost is weather collection and monitoring. If we have aircraft that can stay in the air all the time, we can better be prepared to understand and prepare for hurricanes, seasonal changes and possible even geological disturbances.

Those are a few points.

[HustlingVegas]

and the point of this = ?

[GenCobra]

That's really cool.

[gjk0005]

this is the best ufo footage i've seen... WE'RE NOT ALONE!!!

lol

[alikill]

Is It RC or is it free flight?

[DudrickStudios]

free freight

[alikill]

Ok Thanks

[ianonline]

RC? How far do you suppose the transmission range could be?!

[Ubinnhad]

It uses it's own autopilot, presumably pre-programmed to do certain things like, go as high as you can, stay within a certain area etc. It reached 58,000 feet by the way and I guess it must have flown through the jetstream to get that high?

[We11y]

lol.

[kambingbetula]

whoaa.... someone should make this as RC plane... save ur battery... LOL

[gerritbot]

Refpekk!

[jaasum]

Lets get some of that hooked up to our homes and cars. The closest thing to a renewable energy source we can get, seeing as how the sun gives and never needs, and it wont burn out for like....3 billion years. Fuck surveillance, I want my car powered on that.

[DudrickStudios]

yea well, thats good for ya cause there is a newer version of the SmartCar with solar panels attached to the roof but with the shape of the car so you cant tell! and its cheap!

[russoc4]

solar panels are expensive though. everything has it's drawbacks.

[b1ngnx33]

good stuff.

[jalambo]

that thing look so fragile.. only if it can reach high elevations where no weathering can damage the solar cells

[Ubinnhad]

It reaches and cruises at 50000 feet no problem. I suppose it would be rather difficult to launch though in anything other than light winds!

[mafioz12]

yeah for osama. It is fuel efficient too.

[UsernameUnavailabIe]

good for terrorist

[RacerXGTO]

Keep the "solar plane" I'll take the Gulfstream Aerospace G5

[NickyNick2007]

Pretty Cool!

[budge91]

that could be incredibly useful for survailence

[PackageSeverance]

until someone shoots it down with a bow-and-arrow

[Geobon]

No, they shot it down with their breath

[Ubinnhad]

Seeing as the aircraft eventually cruises at 50,000 feet that would be quite a bow and arrow. Have you thought of inventing such a deadly thing?

[PackageSeverance]

how do you know it doesn't exist just because you haven't heard of it

should we worship you as an all-knowing god?

[kentiler]

Just hope a strong wind doesn't pop up!

[BeechSundowner]

AWESOME!

[the23er]

congrats

[onosendaiAAB]

Pity it's military tech.

[cerebulon]

That looked pretty cool. Amazing accomplishment. Soon we will have robotic, floating, death-fortresses powered by the sun that shall rain down devastation upon those foolish enough to provoke their ungodly wrath! Amen.

[ignuz]

lol..

[machriderx]

Well, we could always fly above them and blot out their energy source.

[funkgetreadytoride]

going to get me one of them!

[th3cokepyro]

good luck affording that.

[bitRAKE]

Why is two props better than one?

[nominalvelocity]

Because two of anything is always better than one of the same thing, you know, excepting STDs.

[noodlemasta]

Its probably just the sea-wind at Portsdown hill!

[firetosvm]

amazing

[andopolis]

I bet it tastes like chicken.

[Unfathomable42]

Hmm, do those propellers actually do anything?

[poddus]

the frame-rate causes the propellers to look like they're spinning really slowly. That's also why sometimes the wheels on cars seem to be going backwards.

[Unfathomable42]

Ahh, thanks, On the video they look like they are just turning in the breeze!

[th3cokepyro]

other than keeping it in the air?? might cut you up a bit

[Unfathomable42]

Lift, and wings keep it up, props would move it forward.

[captioneric]

that was good a strange looking craft but good