And On The Third Day,

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,IT LANDED

With the wingspan , but not the weight, of a pterodactyl on steroids, the carbon fiber Zephyr  ultra-lightweight  unmanned  aircraft  can be launched  like a paper airplane- if you can throw a  66 pound barbell overhand. Normally several men pick it up and  toss it into the air.

Once there it can stay up for quite a while.  By day  the QinetiQ  UAV  flies on solar power generated by  paper thin amorphous silicon photovoltaic arrays that cover the aircraft's wings. By night, or under cloud cover,  its rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries keep it aloft- it can find sun when it must by flying over the weather and into the stratosphere.

Recent  trials validated modifications that have improved the efficiency of Zephyr's power system; new solar arrays supplied by United Solar Ovonic, a full flight-set of Sion Power batteries as well as a novel solar-charger and bespoke autopilot developed by QinetiQ allowed the aircraft to fly  twice carrying a surveillance payload , first for 54 hours to a maximum altitude of 58,355 feet, and then for 33 hours 43 minutes to a maximum altitude of 52,247 feet.  This is an unofficial un-fueled heavier than air endurance record, it being kind of hard to get the equivalent of the Guinness guys to hang around for that  long. If the UAV jocks keep this up, expect the Swiss to retaliate , and next year's Book Of World Records to include the first chronometer certified 100 hour stopwatch.

Comments

[WhiteBeard]

One can quibble about definitions infinitely. I believe it was in the ’30 that soaring groups quit recognizing duration records. Someone figured out that Oahu had large cliffs facing the mid-Pacific trades. Shortly the guidance units started exceeding their time between snooze envelope, leading to several total system failures, in their endeavor to wave heraldic sponges proclaiming “We’re # 1”. My recollection of this factoid is seriously dimmed by the passage of many chronometer ticks, but they had advanced duration to over five days, IIR.

That makes “This is an unofficial un-fueled heavier than air endurance record” claim somewhat suspect, although other sources (like QinetiQ) use the phrase “exceeded the official world record time for the longest duration unmanned flight”.

This remains a notable achievement with QinetiQ going the battery route, rather than NASA Ames fuel cells. If the batteries scale and have adequate service life, this should lead to decent payload and a useful system.

[WhiteBeard]

One can quibble about definitions infinitely. I believe it was in the ’30 that soaring groups quit recognizing duration records. Someone figured out that Oahu had large cliffs facing the mid-Pacific trades. Shortly the guidance units started exceeding their time between snooze envelope, leading to several total system failures, in their endeavor to wave heraldic sponges proclaiming “We’re # 1”. My recollection of this factoid is seriously dimmed by the passage of many chronometer ticks, but they had advanced duration to over five days, IIR.

That makes “This is an unofficial un-fueled heavier than air endurance record” claim somewhat suspect, although other sources (like QinetiQ) use the phrase “exceeded the official world record time for the longest duration unmanned flight”.

This remains a notable achievement with QinetiQ going the battery route, rather than NASA Ames fuel cells. If the batteries scale and have adequate service life, this should lead to decent payload and a useful system.