Enthusiastic engineer Luke Maximo Bell has developed a quadcopter that can fly entirely on solar power. The design uses a large carbon fiber frame with 18-inch blades to provide the space and lift needed to accommodate the solar panels.
Bell demonstrated his invention on the YouTube channel Luke Maximo Bell.
“I optimized every part of this drone to maximize its efficiency and make the idea of a solar-powered quadcopter a reality,” the video's description reads.
The aircraft is equipped with 27 ultra-thin photovoltaic modules arranged in a 9 x 3 grid and mounted on a lightweight support structure. Thanks to its minimal weight, the drone demonstrates stable flight when powered directly from solar panels without using batteries.
It should be noted that the current prototype has limited power – one of the components of the array was damaged by the developer's cat when passing through the inversion device. The author of the project plans to improve the design by adding additional panels, spacer batteries and an automatic control system in an attempt to set a world record for drone flight time.
