Dreamweaver/snatcher Solar-Powered Aircraft

[cardgame]

Perhaps a first in the world of Kerbin, an eco-friendly solar-powered airplane has been developed. CG Ventures is proud to present the Dreamweaver!

Weighing in at a modest 5 tons, the Dreamweaver design has a similarly minimal power plant, producing a TWR of only 0.3 on takeoff.

She can achieve liftoff as slow as 36 m/s, though for a more stable takeoff I recommend 41m/s or above.

She's pretty easy to fly and quite stable, though you won't want to pull off a lot of stunts as the 15 kN of thrust provided will not be enough to get you out of trouble once you're in it.

With solar panels deployed:

And here she is in the hangar, with control surface settings available in case they're not already set in the .craft file.

The range of this beauty is roughly 36 km on full throttle, which provides precisely 8:06 of burn time. YMMV based on piloting skills. I've achieved a top dive speed of ~120m/s in a modest dive, and a level top speed of ~90m/s.

She has no operational ceiling that I'm aware of, but due to the operational reality of fuel and thrust, I would rule out taking her above 4000m.

NEW!

The Dreamweaver is a toy, a novelty, and that had to change. With this design philosophy in mind, CG Ventures has created a new beast, the Dreamsnatcher.

The Dreamsnatcher is everything the Dreamweaver was not: fast, agile, and powerful. Capable of reaching 6000m or higher, with a range of ~55km and a tentative top speed of 160m/s, the Dreamsnatcher is competitive with mainstream jets. Weighing in at less than 12 tons fully charged, she's still pretty lightweight for a craft of her size. When the power is depleted, she's only 8 tons and pretty easy to land, even at speeds of 50m/s. Be very careful with the stick, if you pull up at the last minute and don't have enough speed to keep her gliding straight, she'll nosedive.

She can even fly, for a time, with solar deployed. Just don't try to land with them deployed, as the drag will pull your nose down 20 degrees or more when you least expect it.

note: do NOT empty your fuel cells, as once they are dead, they are impossible to recharge. Should be fixed in 17.1.

pilot's tip: yaw is useful once again, and combined with pitch, is the best way to steer your plane.

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Mods Used:

Get Ferram's Aerospace Research here for a semi-realistic drag model. Way better than the broken thing we have now, and as far as I can tell, it killed the infiniglide bug, therefore all craft produced with it are legit.

Get Mechanical Mouse Industries pack here. Don't forget to get the satellite pack for the solar cells, and the assorted plugins that go with them – Kreuzung's electrical energy plugin, Mumech, and PowerTech.

*[CG Ventures] is in no way responsible for any deaths, dismemberments or explosions caused by attempting to charge the batteries while in midair.

Edited October 8, 2012 by cardgame
UPDATES!

[Joshmo]

This is such a great idea! I am assuming it is a bad idea to deploy solar cells during flight?

[cardgame]

With a little bit more thrust it might be possible, but something in one of the MMI-related plugins gives the solar panels a large amount of drag when deployed, or at least acts like it (it only makes sense) and very quickly drops your airspeed. They take something like 20s to deploy, so by the time you deploy them and undeploy them you've probably already crashed.

[zapy97]

if i recall correctly the makeup of a solar panel is non envirementally friendly, but what am i saying i am a dalek

cool design though

Edited October 8, 2012 by zapy97

[cardgame]

Update

[cardgame]

Any comments, criticisms? Any at all?

[Markus Reese]

Here is an interesting idea, how about make a lifting panel? Mod a structural wing to produce electricity without needing deployment?

[BraveDude8 - La Volpe]

How in the hell do I deploy the solar panels? :>

[cardgame]

hit space again

To undeploy, right click on the base of the panel.