QinetiQ Zephyr solar powered plane.

The QinetiQ team launches Zephyr in Yuma in August 2008.

Zephyr is a solar powered UAV designed and built by QinetiQ for continuous flight over several months.

Zephyr currently holds the unofficial record for the longest unmanned flight at around 83 hours - achieved in August 2008.

Zephyr is powered by lithium-sulphur batteries that are recharged during the day using solar power. The aircraft uses a bespoke autopilot system to navigate between waypoints and to remove the requirement for permanent manual operation.

http://www.qinetiq.com/home/defence/defence_solutions/aerospace/unmanned_air_...

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Science & Technology

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• QinetiQ
• solar+power
• UAV
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[scarble]

That is incredible. Literally sends shivers down my spine.

7 days airborne so far and the target is 14.

I'm just curious as to how it lands?

[QinetiQGroup]

@scarble keep checking the channel and you can see the landing for yourself

[QinetiQTV]

QinetiQs continues to demonstrate the importance of new technologies.

[alwedworth]

We could use this aircraft to give live internet feed in egypt for free. And anywhere goverments try to control the people.. Has anyone connected to this project thought of this?

[bwkrazyness]

@scarble It made it 14 days 24 minutes,

[scarble]

@Excalibur80 lol, they'll just have to keep it up a little longer while they think of a solution.

I reckon they'll just have the 5 guys running along on the ground, trying to catch it as it comes down. Though it's clearly got some incredible low speed lift so maybe that is the plan O_O

Or does it float? Or maybe they catch it in a trapeze on a motherplane or airship (this has been done with piloted planes and this was before modern control systems!)

[Excalibur80]

@scarble Somebody at QinetiQ just read your comment and thought "fuck, I knew we missed something!" ;)

[kissit22uk]

i think its a brilliant idea. clean, efficient and useful for many applications, i do wonder about its performance in turbulent situations though? Beautiful takeoff by the way, nice bit of British engineering