26th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences
including the 8th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Conference
14 - 19 September 2008, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Paper ICAS 2008-5.3.2

UNIQUE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLAR AIRCRAFT

G. Sachs, J. Lenz, F. Holzapfel
TU Munich, Germany

Keywords: Solar aircraft, flight performance, unlimited endurance capability

The unique performance characteristics of solar aircraft are shown. These differ significantly from those of aircraft equipped with air-breathing engines, yielding a performance superiority of solar aircraft. Furthermore, the performance of solar aircraft with an unlimited flight duration is dealt with. Results of their complex maximum-performance trajectories are presented.

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