August 31, 2025Aug 31 A Swiss Pilot Flew a Solar-Electric Aircraft to the Edge of the Stratosphere https://share.google/1hHv5x4gqHr8rOcyy
August 31, 2025Aug 31 Pretty cool stuff … also longest solo flight ever recorded. But you I’m sure you’re aware this thread will get locked by those that don’t like change. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. - Carl Sagan
August 31, 2025Aug 31 Ah that's nothing! Back in 2006 Steve Fossett got to FL490 in a DG505 which has no viable means of propulsion at all!🤣 Intel Core i9-10900K at 5.2GHz, Corsair H115i PRO, ASUS MAXIMUS XII HERO Z490, G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 15-16-16-36, ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090, SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 1TB x 3, Corsair HX Series HX1000 Watt PSU, Pimax Crystal LIght.
September 1, 2025Sep 1 That's pretty awesome. I'll be very surprised, though, if they can make it to 80,000ft. I hope they can do it. Even though it's a very light plane, it does have a stall speed, and at very high altitude that gets higher and higher, so the electric motor must be powerful enough to maintain speed. Another issue is the effect of the extremely low temps at high altitude on the battery charge. There's some good comments which I referenced here: https://newatlas.com/solarstratos-solar-powered-flight-space/46680/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body Anyway, although I don't see solar-powered planes transporting hundreds of people at 500mph, they still have a role in aviation. Their autonomy, simplicity, and no fuel requirements are a big plus. Dave Simulator: P3Dv6.1 System Specs: Intel i7 13700K CPU, MSI Mag Z790 Tomahawk Motherboard, 32GB DDR5 6000MHz RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Video Card, 3x 1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 2280 SSDs, Windows 11 Home OS My website for P3D stuff: https://sites.google.com/view/thep3dfiles/home
September 1, 2025Sep 1 Author 14 hours ago, SayAgain said: Pretty cool stuff … also longest solo flight ever recorded. But you I’m sure you’re aware this thread will get locked by those that don’t like change. 🤣
September 1, 2025Sep 1 Author I'm surprised hybrid aircraft aren't here yet. There are some in development, but they seem to be taking their time.
September 1, 2025Sep 1 Author Okay, seems more than I thought... 🤔 I think the Ampaire is a converted Cessna 337. AI Overview Several companies have hybrid-electric aircraft currently flying and in development, including Ampaire, which has a fleet of hybrid-electric aircraft in operation with over 17,500 miles flown. VoltAero flies its Cassio 330 hybrid aircraft, and other notable hybrid aircraft projects include the Heart Aerospace ES-30 (with its X2 prototype scheduled for flight in 2026), the NASA/magniX Dash 7 conversion, and the VoltAero Cassio 330, which is in production. Companies and Projects Flying or Testing Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Ampaire: Operates a fleet of hybrid-electric aircraft using its AmpDrive system, with a strong safety record. VoltAero: Flies the Cassio 330 hybrid aircraft, with a production version unveiled in June 2025 and plans for larger versions like the Cassio 480 and 600. National Research Council Canada: Converted a Cessna Skymaster into the Hybrid Electric Aircraft Testbed, which first flew in February 2022. Airbus: Contributed to the now-concluded EcoPulse project, a hybrid-propulsion demonstrator that first flew in November 2023.
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