MacCready Gossamer Penguin
| Gossamer Penguin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Test flight of the Gossamer Penguin | |
| Role | experimental aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | AeroVironment |
| Designer | Paul MacCready |
| First flight | May 18, 1979 |
| Status | Sole example in possession of The Science Place Foundation[1] |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Gossamer Albatross
|
| Developed into | Solar Challenger
|
The Gossamer Penguin was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by
The Penguin was a three-quarter scale version of the
Initial test flights were performed using a 28–cell, NiCad battery pack instead of a solar panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed 80 lb (36 kg).
The official pilot for the project was Janice Brown, a charter pilot with commercial, instrument, and glider ratings who weighed slightly less than 100 lb (45 kg). She flew the Penguin approximately 40 times before a 1.95-mile (3.14 km) public demonstration flight at
Specifications
Data from MacCready, Lissaman, Morgan, and Burke 1983[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Wingspan: 71 ft 0 in (21.64 m)
- Wing area: 297 sq ft (27.6 m2)
- Empty weight: 68 lb (30.8 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 28 x D type Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) cells or 3920 solar cells
- Powerplant: 1 × Astro-Flight Astro-40 double brush DC electric motor with 133:1 reduction
See also
Related development
References
- ^ ISSN 0021-8669.
- ^ a b "Plane flies on sun power", by Terrance W. McGarry, United Press International report in the Spokane (WA) Chronicle, June 5, 1980, p12
- doi:10.2514/6.1984-1429.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Solar-powered Gossamer Penguin in flight, USA: NASA.