Hello everybody,
Please take a look at the two videos below. They are videos of a solar plane made by college students in Pakistan. Not to discourage anybody, but I am just saying that there are other countries in the fray too.



They are also in a similar stage as Aneesh. We may be just be able to beat them.
All the best of luck Aneesh.
#teamindigo
#teamvimaanas

What about you? Your project?

Sent from my GT-S7562L using Tapatalk

Hmm i have seen that video
i think they used a 15x5.5 inch cf prop with a motor of 380-600 kv
with the kind of solar cells they used its tough to get a curved airfoil-so their airfoil must be flat
and im assuming the thrust they got is less as it was not able to move the standstill plane-did anyone thinks the same
and it seems that their wing construction is of high density foam( -wire cut -airfoil) with some cf rods or ply for strengthening --that should be really heavy for that long wingspan
Some of the solar cells are cut -(i have done this experiment)this reduces the efficiency a lot

if all my assumptions are correct and i doubt that this plane can fly with solar energy alone
But thats a great effort -soldering and placing those brittle solar cells is so hard
any other views?

It's not even sunny in the flight video... Foggy indeed....

All in one version of my Project
Regards
Aneesh.P

Well done! 

wheres the final solar flight?
Regards
Good editing BTW

the ground in my clg is circular and small, with my experience in flying i cant turn this plane with out banking and if it banks more its loose power. so will try flying it only on good grounds.
more over im applying for competitions till then i thought not to take any chances -so no flight tests till sept mostly.

regards
aneesh

Great going Aneesh ....
Eagerly looking forward to the Solar powered Maiden ...All the very best ...
Regards

Sent from my Le X507 using Tapatalk

Here is another video of a team who have done a similar project. They have built a 100% solar flying wing that has flown for 6hrs straight. They have also charged their batteries during flight.



Congrats to that team!
All the best Aneesh!

I will also complete my solar project soon. Most of my hurdles(lack of availability of materials) have been broken!

Waiting eagerly for the solar maiden.

Warm regards,
Karthick Ashwath.

Hey; where did you get the cells from?
Regards

Sent from my GT-S7562L using Tapatalk

Prabal,

rchyderbad stocks them.

Ok. Cheers.thanks btw

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

Hi aneesh,
It is a good idea to mount solar panels on the plane. I have experienced some event which I would like to share with u regarding solar pannels. I had done some research on solar pannels and cell, my father brought a single solar cell which was 10cm*10cm. It was very thin, this was a single cell for which we had to solder wires. the cell suddenly slipped from my hand and fell down and shattered into pieces. All I want to tell u is that these cells are we're delicate. U get laminated stuf too but there generate less power due to the an extra layer. I could suggest u an another idea. U could put a brushed mother with a small propeller to it which provides less frictional force on both sides of the wings. This could be much more efficient on a glider.

Is there any update Aneesh P.?

Hope it help.... I have found that XXD's A2212 1000kv size motor is providing a 750gms of thrust with a 1045 size propeller.... Ya you can experiment it with prop having more pitch.... And one thing which is very important is that..... They are rated 15amps at load..... I checked with my 17amps power supply is motor is rotating at full throttle taking only 1.5 amps of current with 1045 prop.... You can use two motor.... Since you have plenty of power @5amps....good luck.... Im also a mech engineer hope i can help you...... Can you please tell from where you have got that Solar Panel?... I want same i have also another project.
Thank you.

Friend, look at the pages before.
Aneesh has ALREADY completed his project.
If you do care to read the above posts, you get a source for the panels too.
Brushed motors are too incapable.
I have also completed a solar plane and have won second.
I have talked to aneesh, his project is done.
Regards

Actually im viewing this page on moble device.... And who said i refered him to go with BLDC motors.... Nice if you have won 2nd... and who said brushed motor is insufficient?..... i have many highly efficient  Brushed motors(due to brush it is not as sufficient as a BLDC motor is))   which can do this job...

I never even referred to BLDC motors anywhere.
Yes, there are * efficient * brushed motors out there.
They are not in production so often now.
I mean you hardly find any brushed motor that can pull an 700 gms worth of airframe.
Better to go to brush less motor route.
Regards

@Aanishp
exactly solar cells are very brittle, in fact i broke 2 cells initially while testing. The cells i got are semi flexible (can bend upto 30 deg) and i kind of laminated them onto the wing(used transparent sheeting) which made them very durable-even though if the cell breaks, due to lamination it holds together maintaining the circuits inside giving an output.
   regarding a bldc motor- its a good idea, but with a gear setup. generally many bldc motors produce less thrust and may not be suitable for large planes particularly hand launched and for high climb rate  At the time of my project i was in a hurry and was looking in local shops for the best propulsion setup ( i have started with solarcells-propulsion-design-testing(in 3 months span)) so got on with what was there in the market. Moreover using motors on both wing might make the construction a little complex particularly with solar cells

@abhishek01

this is a thrust test video of the motor you have mentioned
it takes around 10 amps to give 700grm thrust and at 2 amps it only gives around 200grms
it is sufficient to be used in my plane but using 2 motors (46+46grms) i can get 1400 grms at 20amps-which is almost the same i'm getting now(100grm motor-1.2kg@15amps) more over using two motors is complex as mentioned above (weights of extra mount,prop,esc ) and efficiency also goes down which might make a single motor setup a better choice

regards
Aneesh.P
   

Any update ?

hi.. I have successfully flown my plane. it flies very well during shiny days. check this out:

Well done. But do you have battery backup?

Specifications are appreciated.

to drive servo motors, some time cell voltage drops to 2.5V which is not sufficient for Reciever or servo.