Zephyr – The New Solar Powered Plane Designed by the UK

The UK has designed a plane called Zephyr that is completely solar powered and that can stay aloft for weeks in high atmosphere in order to avoid air traffic and adverse weather. This device is a remote-sensing aircraft and that is crafted as a communication platform. The Zephyr will start its industrial production in Farnborough after a few years of testing. The Kelleher facility will be in charge of producing 30 planes every year. The plane is named after the Zephyr’s late inventor and the inauguration was announced at the 2018 Farnborough Air Show.

The functioning is very simple, it is powered by solar energy that will optimize its energy during the day and will later run on solar charged batteries by night. The plane is currently holding an endurance record for un-refueled airplanes. In the other words, the record is 336 hours, 22 minutes and eight seconds in the sky.

The Zephyr S is the latest model that is currently above Arizona in the US. Airbus aims to fly it for over 30 days and by doing so it will be breaking a 14-day record set on 2010. Although, there are few aspects of the craft that is yet to be tested like the like the light weighted battery and few other aspects that haven’t been disclosed. All in all, the United Kingdom has done a wonderful job with the design, let us see how it can help others in the market.