Overview

This aircraft aims to provide humanitarian aid in disaster-stricken areas through the use of continuous aerial footage and increased flight duration from solar panels supplementing battery power.

Final Plane

Design Goals

We wanted to:

  • Accommodate 18 solar panels onto the wing (ideal amount based on electronics used)
  • Allow the wing to be removed for easy transportation

Initial Prototype

The plane uses flexible solar panels that can slightly curve into the shape of the wing airfoil to avoid impacting aerodynamic performance. However, they are quite fragile, so we wanted them to be easily removable for repairability. The initial idea was to have the solar panels taped to a sheet of balsa wood that slides into a groove on each wing. This way, if a panel cracked, it could be taken off of the sheet and replaced with ease.

Removable Panel Design

Final Design

After extensive testing, we found that the solar panels still functioned with small cracks and could be covered in clear monokote without a significant performance penalty. Monokoting the panels increased their structural integrity as well and allowed a smoother surface with less drag for air to flow over. The panels also had to be soldered together, which further reduced repairability. This led us to instead attach the panels directly on top of the wing. The edges of the panels were covered with tape, allowing air to smoothly flow over the wing.

Monokoted Panels

The wings have two spars made of lightweight carbon fiber rods while the rest of the structure is made from balsa wood.

The wingbox has two holes for the spars to pass through and screw holes to attach it to the fuselage.

Flight Videos

Reflection

This project was challenging yet rewarding, with a few unexpected issues that were resolved with design adjustments. The secondary carbon fiber wing spar spanned just half of each wing due to an ordering issue. I decided to add a balsa wood spar to extend the spar to the wingtip and add some rigidity. The lack of a full spar caused a slight twist in the wings when the ailerons deflected during the flight and made the plane a bit harder to control. Otherwise, the plane was able to fly fine without major issues.