The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by

Paul MacCready Paul Beattie MacCready Jr. (September 25, 1925 – August 28, 2007) was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the first Kremer prize. He devoted his life t ...

AeroVironment AeroVironment, Inc. is an American Arms industry, defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul MacCready, Paul B. MacCready Jr., a designer of human-powered aircraft, ...

. MacCready had built the ''

Gossamer Condor The MacCready ''Gossamer Condor'' was the first human-powered aircraft capable of controlled and sustained flight; as such, it won the Kremer prize in 1977. Its design was led by Paul MacCready of AeroVironment, Inc. Design and development T ...

'' in 1977 which won the Kremer prize for the first human-powered flight, and the '' Gossamer Albatross,'' a similar but larger aircraft. The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was developed from the ''Albatross'' and used that ultralight design to demonstrate solar flight at testing ground at Minter Field, outside of

Shafter, California Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located west-northwest of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census. The city is located along Califo ...

."Plane flies on sun power", by Terrance W. McGarry, United Press International report in the ''Spokane (WA) Chronicle'', June 5, 1980, p12 The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was the third

solar-powered aircraft Solar-powered aircraft are electric aircraft that can be an airplane, blimp, or airship and use either a battery or hydrogen to store the energy produced by the solar cells and use that energy at night when the sun isn't shining. Usage Solar- ...

to fly, and the second crewed solar-powered aircraft. The ''Penguin'' was a three-quarter scale version of the '' Gossamer Albatross II''; it had a wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of . The propeller was driven by an

AstroFlight 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 ...

Astro-40 electric motor, powered by a 541 watt solar panel, consisting of 3920 solar cells. Initial test flights were performed using a 28–cell, NiCad battery pack instead of a solar panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed . The official pilot for the project was Janice Brown, a charter pilot with commercial, instrument, and glider ratings who weighed slightly less than . She flew the ''Penguin'' approximately 40 times before a public demonstration flight at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Dryden Flight Research Center The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical rese ...

on August 7, 1980.

Specifications

References

{{Photovoltaics AeroVironment aircraft Canard aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Solar-powered aircraft 1980s United States experimental aircraft Photovoltaics Aircraft first flown in 1979 High-wing aircraft

Specifications

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References