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Solar Plane
by jeffmazter406 on May 26, 2013 Table of Contents Solar Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Solar Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Building the Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 7

Step 3: Solar Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 4: Fuselage, Monokote & Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Step 5: Testing Electronic Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Step 6: Test Flying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Step 7: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

http://www.instructables.com/id/Introduction-47/

Intro: Solar Plane

Introduction: This instructable will show you how to create a solar powered plane. This project was done at Newman Smith HS in Carrollton, Texas, sponsored by the Texas A&M Aerospace Engineering Department. We received a most of the needed parts and built the plane for the competition on May 25, 2013. The project is not for the beginner as it gets a bit complicated. Skills that you will need include soldering skills, plane building skills, monokoting skills, and general R/C plane knowledge. Our team ended up with the Most Creative award and 2nd place in Endurance. Special Thanks to Texas A&M, NSHS Teachers & the DIY Drones Community (http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/solar-powered-plane). Below are some pictures of the completed project. The next step will be the list of materials needed. Also included below is the link for build basics and aircraft aerodynamics- there are two PowerPoints included by Texas A&M. If you are going to do the project, printing out these two PowerPoint will help you immensely. However, please take note that all the cells must be in series, not parallel as one of the PowerPoint describes. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_bYmGJ0v1Ncb283TF8tWXF6ZWc&usp=sharing Want to see more photos? PM me and I'll give you a link.

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Step 1: Materials
Materials Needed: Glider (we used the Gentle Lady) Monokote (We ended up using about 3 rolls- two for the 8 foot wing [bottom] & body of the plane and another clear roll for the panels) 3x6 Solar Panels Tabbing Wire Bus Wire Normal Wire Micro Servos Push Rods Nylon Control Horns Propeller Li-Po Battery ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) Charger Connectors (for Wires) Receiver Propeller Electric Motor CA Glue Heat Shrink Tubing Sewing String Pairing Connector (depends on your transmitter/receiver) Nuts (for balancing wing) Balsa Wood Sheets (optional- depends on how big your wing is) Tools: Soldering Iron Flux Solder Hobby Knife and extra blades Heat Gun Sealing Iron Large Table

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Sand Paper Drill Wire Cutter Digital Multi-Meter First Aid Kit

Image Notes 1. CA Glue (We ended up using 4 bottles)

Image Notes 1. Motor

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Image Notes 1. This is the charger we used. We took off the covering and left only the internals and velcroed it to the side of the fuselage. It requires at least 12v of input voltage to charge. We do not used the "load" because that will fry everything. 2. Don't use the load. 3. The battery input also serves as the ESC power source. 4. Panels plug into here.

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Step 2: Building the Wing

To begin the project, start by building the wing. The wing is where the panels will go on. Depending on what glider/plane kit you use, you may want to do it differently. We extended our two meter wing span to make it 8 feet to fit 22 panels in-between the ribs. The other teams that we competed with did not do so this way. They put the panels directly on the wings and did not extend the wing span. By extending the wing span and putting the panels in between, we used less ribs and made the wing more fragile, but it paid off and did not break because we did a pretty good job of reinforcing it. To extend our wing, we cut out extra ribs from some balsas wood and duplicated the middle of the wing to extend it. Follow the plans provided with your kit and build the wing. Extend the wing from the center if necessary.

Image Notes 1. Follow the plans

Image Notes 1. Build the Wing

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Image Notes 1. Having multiple hands is helpful.

Image Notes 1. Some teams monokoted the wings directly onto the plane. We did not.

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Image Notes 1. Improper reinforcement: this team mounted the panels directly on the wing via monokote but did not reinforce the wing enough not leave enough monokote over the other side.

Image Notes 1. Our 8 foot extended wing

Image Notes 1. Ribs spaced so the panels could be in the middle.

Image Notes 1. Panels fit in the center.

Image Notes 1. Wing Tips: Dihedral

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Step 3: Solar Panels

Solar Panels: something that is a pain in the butt to install. These solar panels were about as fragile as anything we had ever handled before. Rigid and inflexible, we broke about half of them. Handling them with the uttermost care is very important to avoid damage to them. Some cracks are okay, it just depends on where they are located and how they broke. Searching up how solar panels work, how to cut them, and how to tab them really helps. Some background information: The shiny blue side of the panel is negative. The bottom grey side is positive. To connect in series, connect the top tabbing wire to the bottom tabbing wire. There is more information in the PowerPoint. After tabbing the cells, CA glue them onto the wing in-between the ribs. After doing so, then connect them in series carefully with the soldering iron, making sure to not hurt yourself. The bus wires go at the end of the panels and are connected to a wire that leads to the middle of the wing from either side.

Image Notes 1. Test fitting the panels on the plans.

Image Notes 1. The panels crack really easily. Don't solder them before you mount them on the wing. This was before we figured that out.

Image Notes 1. We used a heat gun to make the CA dry faster. You could also use the spray to make it set even faster.

Image Notes 1. Panels glued before we soldered.

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Image Notes 1. The CA setting spray.

Image Notes 1. Our soldering Rig

Image Notes 1. Since we needed at least 23 panels and we only had 22 on the wing, we put one extra panel in series on the fuselage and connected that to the panels on the wing. This then goes into the charger.

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Image Notes 1. Connects from the top to the bottom. 2. Extra Panel since the other half cracked off. We used a diamond carbide cutting disk on a rotary tool to cut it. It helps to monokote the panels before cutting them. It makes them a lot stronger.

Image Notes 1. All the wires are connected in series and connected together here. We heat shrinked the exposed leads to be safe.

Step 4: Fuselage, Monokote & Electronics

Building the fuselage The construction of the fuselage is not very difficult. Follow the instructions on the airplane plan provided. Wiring on the other hand may be more difficult. If you extend the wing, the CG on the plane may shift and you might have to do some minor modifications on servo placement. Heat shrink all electrical components to avoid any short circuits. Monokote Monokoting is not hard either. Use youtube videos to learn how to do it. Make sure when you are monokoting the wing, do the bottom first and then the top and make sure you curve the monotkote over to maintain a good airfoil and reduce any drag. You want to have as much laminar flow as possible. Make sure to use clear monokote for the top of the wing so the solar panels can charge. Cut and Iron the monokote on the wing, then blow it with the heat gun so it contracts and creates a tight wrap around the skeleton of the wing. Wiring & Electronics Follow the PowerPoints provided and you should be fine. Put the Nylon control horns where they belong and wrap them in tape so they don't fall off in flight.

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Image Notes 1. Monokote the bottom first

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Image Notes 1. Monokoting the wing.

Image Notes 1. ESC 2. Motor

Step 5: Testing Electronic Parts

To test the solar panels, plug them all into the charger where they belong and bring it outside to test on a sunny day. Plug the DMM into the output and measure the voltage. The charger that we used only started charging when the voltage was greater than 12 volts. To test the other parts, pair the receiver and the transmitter together. Depending on which brand on transmitter you use, you may need a pairing plug.

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Image Notes 1. Testing voltage.

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Image Notes 1. This was the example plane that A&M showed us.

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Step 6: Test Flying

Bring the plane to an airfield and find an experienced pilot to fly the plane. That person will give you further instruction on how to modify the plane to give it better flight. For us, we needed to reinforce the elevator and rudder. We accomplished that with duct tape.

Image Notes 1. Experienced Pilot 2. Experienced Thrower

Image Notes 1. Duct tape saves the day.

Image Notes 1. Experienced Inspection

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Image Notes 1. Experienced Inspection 2. Weak. It needs at least three joints/hinges of monokote. We used duct tape to fix that.

Image Notes 1. Our awesome carrying rig.

Step 7: Conclusion
The Solar Plane project is an amazing starting point to getting into green energy, R/C, planes, electronics, aerospace, or just about anything else. As for our team, we had an amazing four person group plus our amazing teacher. If you're in a team, make some team shirts, it boosts morale and on competition day, everyone knows who you are. We ended up with 2nd in endurance because the charger wouldn't charge below 12 volts and competition day was an overcast day. But having the cells between the ribs gave us creativity points and using duct tape gave the judges a bit of a kick. We ended up with the most creative award and we're proud. From doing this project, you will learn so much about planes, solar energy, teamwork. It is a great way to spend a couple of weeks on a cool project. Make sure that if you're interested in green technology and solar planes in general, check out the Swiss project Solar Impulse. Our team got to chat with them when they came to Dallas because of our involvement in a similar project. : http://www.solarimpulse.com/ This dude in Finland is also worth checking out. Here's his Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/SolarDrone

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Related Instructables

Making a Solar Panel without Soldering (video) by dkdls09

Making a 1 Watt Solar Array. by Josehf Murchison

Solar Airplane Mobile by blipvert

Solar powered battery recharger for camping. by jimk3038

Remote Controlled SOLAR POWERED Barge (Photos) by prabbit22m

Solar Rechargeable Battery Powered PSP Charger by YoChuck

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May 27, 2013. 4:48 PM REPLY

TheTexan says:
Gig'em Aggies!

TheTexan says:
Gig'em Aggies!

May 27, 2013. 4:48 PM REPLY

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