http://solar-flight.com/blog_new The blog of the leaders and innovators of solar-powered flight Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:13:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Solar cell stringing by Irena.  Laminator on the right.            Cell placement for the tail surface. Carbon fiber pre-preg cut for outboard wing spar caps Nick Meligari, our summer volunteer prepares the spar oven for the bake. Nick holds up the upper and lower spar caps to the wing template. Look carefully, and you ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=154 An event on April 3 was held in the Solarni Horizont workshop to show off what has been built so far of the new two seater. The cockpit is well along, and the tailboom was also positioned where it will be mounted, with the motor pod and prop mocked up. Roman Susnik ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=150 The campaign to build the Solar Stemme fuselage enters its third week, with good progress.  The tail boom is 90% finished.  The halves are ready to join, in the molds.                                                                                                                 Here is the inner side, with peel ply still on. The cockpit is 55% finished, with the honeycomb having gone in ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=136 First days of fuselage fabrication at the Allstar Glider factory, in southern Poland.   The first layer of light carbon fabric being cut for the outer skin of the tail boom and fin. Cured outer skin, with spar caps visible. Nomex honeycomb bonded in for the sandwich core. http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=131 The Icare designer Proffessor Voit Nitschmann agreed to the long term loan of the Icare molds for Solar Flight's new airplane. You can learn more about Icare at http://www.ifb.uni-stuttgart.de/index.php/forschung/flugzeugentwurf/icare Also invoved in the planning and logistics were Len Schumann, Karl Kasser, and Micro Schulz, all Stuttgart alumni. These molds will allow very high qulality ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=116 Alan Weston, program manager at NASA, has invited us to apply for NASA support to aid the ongoing development of sport solar powered airplanes. Tom Edwards, Eric Raymond, and Alan Weston Facilities at Ames include the world's biggest wind tunnel. Intake for wind tunnel Throat section of wind tunnel http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=38 The latest chapter in the SUNSEEKER saga was presented at the Experimental Soaring Association Western Workshop in Tehachapi, California. The crowd was entertained by pictures and stories from the 2009 European Tour. Just before Eric Raymond's presentation Ray Morgan gave a speech about AV's solar powered aircraft. Beautiful Cherokee II Eric and Ray Richard Pfiffner ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=43 After finalizing our negotiations with Stemme, I traveled to the factory where the Stemme composite parts are made. My train was met by the owner, Andrzej Papiorek, who took me straight to his factory. Allstar PZL Glider company makes their own design sailplanes, as well as the Stemmes.Andrzej is very enthusiastic ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=75 After owning a Stemme motor glider between 1999 and 2001, I settled on the S 10 fuselage for my two-seat configuration. A series of meetings with Dr. Stemme has led to an agreement that will allow me to use the molds for this airplane. The molds are in Poland at a subcontractor. Some ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=85 Today I fulfilled a lifelong wish to fly over the Matterhorn. I was invited at the last minute to an event celebrating 50 years of gliding at the Munster airport airport in the central Swiss Alps. About 60 of the best sailplanes were there, ... http://solar-flight.com/blog_new/?p=6