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Astroflight, Incorporated is a manufacturer of products for electric-powered radio controlled aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), brushless industrial motors, the world's first solar-powered aircraft and the world's first practical electric radio controlled model airplane. The company is based in Irvine, California, USA.
The company was founded in 1969 by Bob Boucher and Roland Boucher. Their goal was the development and production of a high-performance radio controlled sailplane for use in AMA-certified competition. That first sailplane, the "Malibu," finished third in its very first outing in San Jose that same year. Bob Boucher would use a Malibu in 1970 to set a closed-course world record for soaring. His record flight of 302 km took place at Waimanalo Beach, Hawaii. The introduction of the Fournier RF-4 electric R/C airplane in 1971 marked the debut of the world's first practical electric-powered model airplane. This would be the model which Roland Boucher would use to set a world record for duration and distance with a flight of one hour and a distance of 29 miles (47 km) on a single charge. Since no official categories for electric flight existed at the time, neither the AMA nor the FAI recognized the record.
The Northrop Corporation awarded Astro Flight a contract in 1972 to develop a low- altitude electric surveillance drone. Project manager Bob Boucher along with Roland Boucher and their lone employee Dave Shadel finished the design in only six months. The result was the Model 7212 flying wing. With a wingspan of 8', the 7212 was powered by three of the company's Astro 40 ferrite motors each turning a three-blade, 8x8 propeller. The 7212 would set another unofficial record in August 1973 by carrying a 7.5 pound lead payload over a closed course for an hour and twenty minutes at speeds reaching 75 mph (121 km/h).
Astro Flight was awarded a DARPA contract through Lockheed in 1974 in order to build the Sunrise , the world's first solar-powered airplane. The historic flight, powered only by sunlight, took place November 4, 1974, at Fort Irwin, California. [1] Two Astro Flight Astro 40 ferrite motors powered the craft via a 6:1 gearbox swinging a 36x24 wood propeller. More than one thousand solar cells on the wing were the sole source of energy, producing roughly 450 watts of power. The craft, weighing in at 27 pounds with its 32' wingspan, had a service ceiling of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) depending on available sunlight. 1975 saw both the departure of Roland Boucher and damage to Sunrise I in a windstorm. It also saw the introduction of the improved Sunrise II, built in just three months. Its maiden flight was on September 27, 1975, at Nellis AFB. Improvements included a single Astro Flight Cobalt 40 motor powered by 4480 solar cells with an output of 600 watts. Climb rate was drastically improved at over 300 feet (91 m) per minute as was the estimated service ceiling of 75,000 feet (23,000 m), although actual flights did not exceed 20,000 feet (6,100 m) due to problems with both command and control.
In 1979, DuPont sponsored Dr. Paul MacCready in his attempt to create a solar powered plane capable of carrying a human. The result was the Gossamer Penguin which had its first flight on May 16, 1980, in Shafter, California. It utilized the 600 watt solar panel used to power Sunrise II along with a production version Cobalt 40 motor. Thrust was via a three-stage transmission turning an 11' propeller at 120 rpm. Motor speed was 15,000 rpm. The success of Gossamer Penguin prompted DuPont to agree to sponsor a solar plane capable of crossing the English Channel. The Dupont Solar Challenger required three months to build the solar panels with their 16,128 cells. The setup was capable of 4000 watts at operating altitude and 2500 watts at sea level. A 3.5 horsepower (2.6 kW) motor, specially designed for the project, turned 9000 rpm through a 22:1 belt-drive reduction unit, resulting in a propeller speed of about 400 rpm.
On July 7, 1981, pilot Steve Ptacek piloted the Dupont Solar Challenger from Pontoise, France to the Manston RAF base in Kent, England.
Today, Astro Flight continues to provide hobbyists with motors, battery chargers and electronic speed controls. Their model 4005 AC/DC battery charger, introduced in 1982 at the Toledo R/C Show became an industry standard, with more than 500,000 units produced over the next decade. They serve industrial customers with custom-made brushless motors. Their Astro Model 300 ten-horsepower DC motor is the same one used in the GM Sunraycer experimental solar powered automobile.
A model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models.
A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state, the rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the rotation period is exactly equal to an integral number of AC cycles. Synchronous motors use electromagnets as the stator of the motor which create a magnetic field that rotates in time with the oscillations of the current. The rotor with permanent magnets or electromagnets turns in step with the stator field at the same rate and as a result, provides the second synchronized rotating magnet field. A synchronous motor is termed doubly fed if it is supplied with independently excited multiphase AC electromagnets on both the rotor and stator.
The NASA Pathfinder and NASA Pathfinder Plus were the first two aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. They were developed further into the NASA Centurion and NASA Helios aircraft.
A brushless DC electric motor (BLDC), also known as an electronically commutated motor, is a synchronous motor using a direct current (DC) electric power supply. It uses an electronic controller to switch DC currents to the motor windings producing magnetic fields that effectively rotate in space and which the permanent magnet rotor follows. The controller adjusts the phase and amplitude of the DC current pulses to control the speed and torque of the motor. This control system is an alternative to the mechanical commutator (brushes) used in many conventional electric motors.
A radio-controlled aircraft is a small flying machine that is controlled remotely by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver within the craft that sends signals to servomechanisms (servos) which move the control surfaces based on the position of joysticks on the transmitter. The control surfaces, in turn, directly affect the orientation of the plane.
AeroVironment, Inc. is an American defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul B. MacCready Jr., a designer of human-powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971. The company is best known for its lightweight human-powered and solar-powered vehicles. The company is the US military's top supplier of small drones —notably the Raven, Switchblade, Wasp and Puma models.
An electronic speed control (ESC) is an electronic circuit that controls and regulates the speed of an electric motor. It may also provide reversing of the motor and dynamic braking. Miniature electronic speed controls are used in electrically powered radio controlled models. Full-size electric vehicles also have systems to control the speed of their drive motors.
A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle.
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.
The Solar Challenger was a solar-powered electric aircraft designed by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. The aircraft was designed as an improvement on the Gossamer Penguin, which in turn was a solar-powered variant of the human-powered Gossamer Albatross. It was powered entirely by the photovoltaic cells on its wing and stabilizer, without even reserve batteries, and was the first such craft capable of long-distance flight. In 1981, it successfully completed a 163-mile (262 km) demonstration flight from France to England.
An outrunner is an electric motor having the rotor outside the stator, as though the motor were turned inside out. They are often used in radio-controlled model aircraft.
The Gossamer Penguin was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. MacCready, whose Gossamer Condor in 1977 won the Kremer prize for human-powered flight, told reporters two weeks in June, 1980 that "The first solar-powered flight ever made took place on May 18." The testing ground was at Minter Field outside of Shafter, California.
The AeroVironment FQM-151 Pointer is a small UAV used by the United States Army and Marine Corps for battlefield surveillance. It was designed by AeroVironment Incorporated, which is led by Paul MacCready, noted for such pioneering aircraft as the human-powered Gossamer Condor and a robotic flying pterodactyl replica. The Pointer was developed with company funds, with the US Army and Marine Corps obtaining a total of about 50 units beginning in 1990.
The AstroFlight Sunrise was an uncrewed experimental electric aircraft technology demonstrator and the first aircraft to fly on solar power.
The Pipistrel Taurus is a Slovenian self-launched two-seat microlight glider designed and built by Pipistrel.
Eric Raymond is an American Certified Flight Instructor, Glider (sailplane) pilot, hang gliding pilot and designer of solar-powered airplanes.
The Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments Solar One is a British mid-wing, experimental, manned solar-powered aircraft that was designed by David Williams and produced by Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments under the direction of Freddie To. On 13 June 1979 it became one of the first solar-powered aircraft to fly, after the unmanned AstroFlight Sunrise and the manned Mauro Solar Riser, and the first successful British solar-powered aircraft.
The Mauro Solar Riser is an American biplane ultralight electric aircraft that was the first crewed aircraft to fly on solar power. It was also only the second solar-powered aircraft to fly, after the uncrewed AstroFlight Sunrise, which had first flown 4+1⁄2 years earlier.
The Volocopter 2X is a German two-seat, optionally-piloted, multirotor eVTOL aircraft. The personal air vehicle was designed and produced by Volocopter GmbH of Bruchsal, and first introduced at the AERO Friedrichshafen airshow in 2017. The aircraft is sold complete and ready-to-fly. Volocopter was formerly known as E-volo.
