Skydweller Aero conducts solar-powered carbon fiber aircraft flight
Skydweller is a large-scale autonomous aircraft made for long-duration missions.
In April, Skydweller Aero (Oklahoma City, Okla., U.S. and Alcobendas, Spain), a company developing an uncrewed solar-powered aircraft, Skydweller, completed its first successful autonomous unmanned/uncrewed flight and landing, from Stennis International Airport in Mississippi. Skydweller, manufactured from carbon fiber, has a wingspan greater than a Boeing 747 and a zero-carbon footprint.
“Our fleet of uncrewed aircraft will enable a multitude of long-duration missions that support national security and non-terrestrial communications,” says Robert Miller, CEO, Skydweller Aero. This includes continuous aerial overage above conflict zones, surveying naval activity in contested waters without risking pilots’ lives, detecting drug smugglers and pirates at sea, and tracking wildlife migration and poaching in Africa.
Skydweller aircraft are capable of perpetual flight, staying aloft for 90 days or more, at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet. In contrast, current combustion-powered aircraft, including piloted aircraft and drones, are limited to approximately 40 hours maximum flight time, limited by the endurance of pilots, the amount of fuel a conventional aircraft can carry and the need for frequent maintenance.
“We are applying 21st century materials science, artificial intelligence and software development to an industry that has spent more than 100 years building piloted, combustion-based aircraft,” Miller notes. “This allows Skydweller to leap ahead of heritage aircraft manufacturers in terms of aircraft performance, flight duration and cost effectiveness.” Moreover, solar-powered Skydwellers are said to be 10 to 100 times less expensive to operate than conventional aircraft for long-duration missions.
Related Content
-
Plant tour: Spirit AeroSystems, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Purpose-built facility employs resin transfer infusion (RTI) and assembly technology to manufacture today’s composite A220 wings, and prepares for future new programs and production ramp-ups.
-
ASCEND program update: Designing next-gen, high-rate auto and aerospace composites
GKN Aerospace, McLaren Automotive and U.K.-based partners share goals and progress aiming at high-rate, Industry 4.0-enabled, sustainable materials and processes.
-
Next-generation airship design enabled by modern composites
LTA Research’s proof-of-concept Pathfinder 1 modernizes a fully rigid airship design with a largely carbon fiber composite frame. R&D has already begun on higher volume, more automated manufacturing for the future.