R/C Flying Solar Panel???

[@marks47]

5:17 I'm murdering a pumpkin right now, but it's time to film myself checking solar charging...

[@kwhp1507]

@Grim FPV lmao

[@magnushayden8107]

When i saw that I immediately went to the comments to find this gem.

[@user-oz5iy4bl1u]

@@magnushayden8107 you're not alone

[@rogerguess926]

Think of witty comment about murdering a pumpkin. Remembered to read comments before making a comment. Read first comment, which also mentions murdering a pumpkin. Upvote comment.

[@shodanxx]

7:30 AND we get a freaking song ? My man you are a gentleman and a scholar !

[@Gh0sb0ss]

5:20 The pumpkin hand coming out of nowhere without context made me lmao

[@sergiourquijo4000]

AAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH totally

[@MrEarling]

I had to look for a comment about the pumpkin hand too

[@ewantheboat]

Yeah I looked at that and was like wtff

[@Toastryan]

i didnt even noice that

[@Andy-df5fj]

He slaughtered a poor pumpkin and we all know it.

[@chcomes]

solar engineer here: cracks on the cells will reduce power a lot! even if you do not see it. Put the battery and propeller way forward with two small carbon fiber sticks. Have fun! it was great to watch

[@hagfelsh]

Any idea what charging devices he was using on the batteries?

[@EREBUSAETHER]

@@hagfelsh buck/boost converter?

[@crimpers5543]

@@EREBUSAETHER bust converter

[@RazorSkinned86]

This isn't a solar powered plane but a flying solar panel...

[@quabiloyoink]

You are correct

[@shreybhandari4233]

Yeah

[@antman7673]

Motorized solar panel.

[@dutchdykefinger]

@@antman7673 well, weren't some advanced solar panels motorized already, automatically adjusting their angle to the sun in an attempt to maximize efficiency? i still don't see those flying unless there's a hurricane though. :D

[@unitedspacepirates9075]

Brilliant. Just add hydrogen balloons and collect moisture to convert water into hho to keep it aloft indefinitely.

[@carmencarrasco4714]

This panel can put out close to 100 watts kzbin.infoUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.

[@opnekryan]

"It's the dumptruck of the solar plane world" 😂😅

[@JoeMalovich]

Great name for a pug too.

[@janeEriley]

It's very cool!

[@kameljoe21]

I just made a comment about it.. Its a good song. Now to finish the video.

[@johnmalaihollo]

Hahahahhaha so cool!!!

[@Hondo76251]

Thats too funny! 🤣

[@markusofficial9016]

Can’t wait to see videos on the super efficient solar glider! I would love to see a whole series on it. And then next step have it fly truly 24/7, that’d push this project to a whole other level. Not sure if the math would work out though.

[@aarondavis8943]

We need a round the world mission. On the equator of course. Is this too much to ask? No! We _need_ this!

[@Franksey180]

7:56 "It's the dump truck of the solar plane world" Beautiful!

[@cptfrecell]

The whole song was great!

[@jacksonvanderkooy]

3:50 diffuser strakes don't directly create downforce on cars, it's just to "organize" the air so making downforce is easier

[@owenyacoe5100]

that song was god tier

[@mmusic105]

as soon as it started playing I had to exit fullscreen mode to go give it a like

[@Spinnaker617]

Young man, I have been watching your videos for years. You're a gifted designer and I appreciate that you share your experiences with us. The song was awesome. Thank you.

[@pwhurley49]

How about lengthening the “fuselage” to improve the CG without the weight of a second battery and reinstall the vertical stabilizers?

[@fahrimertdincer8421]

Or tilt the engine to down a bit?

[@fluffigverbimmelt]

And drop the vertical stabilisers below the plane to avoid shadowing. Kind of like very long winglets

[@joseparedesalbuja8293]

It's a good idea with a large aluminium, wood or carbon fiber rod (maybe 2 ft) and then install canards for pitch control

[@lightningslim]

Have the motor on a forward boom?

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

For this video at least, it seems like he could've used the better charge controller in place of the second battery to bring CG into spec, just strap it on and go. For a better installation, a longer nose with the charge controller mounted in the wing and maybe a little foam fairing to slick it up would help in that regard, but sourcing a more compact/lightweight controller would be preferable. Relocating ALL of the components, including the servos, as far forward as possible would be an ideal solution. You're not adding mass with a longer nose or what amounts to ballast, you're just using what you already have to rebalance the aircraft. Only after you've relocated components to the front should you consider a longer nose or ballast or a boom mounted engine with canard (that's actually a good idea for stability, but does add some complexity). The verticals don't need to be underneath, they just needed to be put on booms behind the plane...a pair of rulers taped to the wing would've worked well enough, that could've been done in the field. Some carbon fiber rods would be better for CG purposes. That would give it better directional control than what it had with no solar shadowing. The strakes underneath the wing help with slow flight, and particularly on such a low aspect ratio wing. The airflow underneath has more of a tendency to move outward toward the wingtips rather than straight back, which induces vortices and causes the wing to be les efficient. Those strakes are like stall fences in that they straighten the airflow and sort of force it to go the way you want, which is straight back. So he probably unknowingly increased the efficiency of the wing trying to get it a little stiffer. The potential was there for this little guy to do really well, it just needed some refinement.

[@Hiasibua]

"Airfoil doesn't matter - all you need's an angle of attack" - Samm Sheperd (RIP)

[@samuelyoung2671]

at the speed that thing files... that statement is like 95% correct😂😂😂

[@Andreas-vr3vs]

5:20 dude, did you just massacre a pumpkin or what happend to your hand :D

[@tramburo23239]

Glad someone else noticed that

[@Wiejeben]

Its probably from the Pulse Jet Pumpkin video from a few months ago haha

[@redsquirrelftw]

I loled at that, it was just so random haha.

[@ltd4517]

5:22 So are we just going to brush over the whole "being covered in pumpkin innards" thing?

[@sergeyvoytenkov539]

6 months you have kept this footage away from us, damn that's a long time

[@shreybhandari4233]

Yeah you are right

[@James-oo1yq]

Would love to see you pull off an Alien UFO trick, while catching people and their reactions on camera. I know it's kinda off topic for the channel, but these things tend to go viral and may bring more to the channel. I am sure you'd create something incredible that would fly on its own at night

[@343_GuiltySpark]

I got out of FPV and RC years ago but I still watch every single one of these videos.

[@bobjohnson2570]

The wing is totally flat. The panels are flexible and should be more lift-shape. How about bending panels over depron ribs ?? Skip the foam (and the strength). Keep level flight with a gyro stabilizer for RC and let the gps control a rudder. Or swing the engine sideways by gps control ??. Hope I make sense. GREAT WORK DUDE. Love it.

[@d4ro]

@rctestflight use diamond shape, full square area, than just half, and it gets stability by tilting the square 45 degrees, plus its highly maneouverable

[@trevorcompton9186]

Oi there’s no such thing as a diamond shape it’s a rotated square!

[@d4ro]

@@trevorcompton9186 nooo its double triangle there you goo dude

[@superdupergrover9857]

@@d4ro nooo it's a symmetrical lozenge

[@d4ro]

@@superdupergrover9857 yeah but your nose isnt symmetrical, at all

[@DwAboutItManFr]

Looks like a good idea.

[@ezrarichardson279]

I really enjoy these RC solar planes. Keep it up Daniel! I would love to see the super efficient carbon fiber one.

[@rkan2]

The song be popping!!

[@GiffysChannel]

Hell ya, let's get Colin that laptop!

[@ericlotze7724]

This shows a good reason to put a radio beacon on your stuff, and get/make radio direction finder antenna IMO

[@RoelBaardman]

Can't wait for the aerodynamic solar glider! I think there's an optimum somewhere... Solar Impulse only did 1:30. Perhaps minimum sink is more important than glide ratio for surviving the night?

[@siggyretburns7523]

Very interesting. And hats off to the lady that was so understanding and let you on her property.

[@zekezero12345]

"..it's a pizza-box, harvesting electrons, flying through the atmospheeere...🎶🎵.."

[@CatatonicImperfect]

dope song, but I think "harvesting photons" is more appropriate

[@c0ldcity]

GREAT PROJECT! I have thoughts! 1. Give it a boom and tail; it'll fix stability issues and give you finer control over CG. The elevons evidently give enough elevation authority... maybe try just a rudder on that tail? Or, since you already have the mixing, try a V-tail! 2. How about some dihedral? I appreciate you'd have to rework the elevon linkages for clearance, but it should really help with glide stability.

[@danieltweit3702]

I'm never disappointed when i come to this channel, good job man

[@carlharrison3637]

Glad to see you're back at it fella. Loved watching this project and now we get to do it all over again - thank you thank you thank you ! :)

[@greenkid336600]

16:20 based on some quick searches, it looks like the modules you picked likely do a sort of fake "MPPT" that is really a target set point for the input voltage, rather than true tracking. Basically, if the panel says peak efficiency at X volts, you tune the MPPT knob so that the input stays at X volts (which is not actually the MPP in all cases). It also looks like they have knobs for setting the desired output voltage (which I assume you set correctly), but also max output current, which you'd probably want to leave wide open for your purposes. With proper adjustment of the MPPT and output current, you might be able to get more performance out of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Genasun still beat them, even with said tweaks.

[@schokofruchttorte]

agreed.. I also have the exact same "mppt" module, which doesn't really do the tracking part. Already tested, it just maintaining fixed input voltage.

[@arnabmaiti4839]

Hi, great work and video there. . Just a little suggestion - You can mount the motor and only 1 battery more far from the centre of gravity and it could work.. In that case we will not need the extra weight and you should have kept the vertical stabilizer, may in a different orientation.

[@binarymatrixlol8197]

My Phone: "rctestflight uploaded a new video" Me: "GimmE ThAt!"

[@somebody3524]

Putting the battery further into the front would enable putting less weight on it. Yay!!! efficiency!!!

[@jamesturncliff5960]

I have two ASW28 gliders. Your system for them was my inspiration. I'm going long range fpv

[@rcbinchicken]

Sweet video and great song, nice to meet the person behind the songs at the end there! My two cents: I feel like it's worth lingering a bit longer at the "less aero efficiency, more cells" end of the spectrum, especially given that even this attempt would have been a pretty sprightly performer with just a better charge controller. A fairly shallow-sweep, cropped delta would yield a better aspect ratio than the rectangle here, not to mention a less inherently "flexy" planform. Yes, you'd lose a bit of cell-placing area from having a diagonal leading edge, but likely no more than you lost from the big KF step on this one. I feel like you could maybe even fit a few more cells on your elevons, if you had some little flexible leads to connect them across the hinge line. I also suspect the chunky full-thickness trailing edges would have contributed a fair whack of drag, maybe half an amp's worth or so - thinning them down could be a low-hanging-fruit performance gain. Could also go a lower-kV motor and bigger prop? That usually pushes up the grams-per-watt efficiency too.

[@Universestyle]

You need the fins, make them stronger for landings and put them up side down.

[@ChrisHarmon1]

Reminds me of the IFO(indoor flying object) which was a flying wing park flyer/mini IFO for indoors made from carbon spar bent in a U shape for the flying wing and covered with ripstop nylon. They were indestructible and I'm positive 99% sit collecting dust rather than having been crashed and thrown away. They were highly aerobatic as well...really weird they quit selling.

[@imchris5000]

I remember when I bought my first drone it was a parrot ar it was really shitty controls wise and on the 3rd time flying it, it lost connection and just kept going up into the sky to never be seen again

[@CaptApril123]

I had one with a sensor issue...took off on me by itself, last seen heading south over lake Ontario towards Buffalo NY.. never seen again

[@FastSloW-qt8xf]

Haha always set your failsafe and be ready to hit a kill switch. It sucks watching your kit hit the ground from a 100ft but you atleast het your electronics back

[@FastSloW-qt8xf]

That said. We probably all lost a drone before learning the failsafe lesson

[@Nick-bc2lm]

Had one of those Cox helicopters... After many flights in a huge school field, it finally went up, up , and away. Never to be found.

[@martinndirangu2844]

The background songs should be on spotify....soo hilarious yet soothing yet satisfying....we love you bro...

[@farpointstation]

The song was beautiful.

[@GiffysChannel]

Now imagine if Colin had a laptop to record on lol

[@ststele]

Dude, all of this time I thought you were the voice in the music! Awesome videos & music. :-)

[@cirdiam1800]

That was a surprise - you’re a pretty good singer!

[@Tsxtasy1]

I really like the big inefficient method. Would love to see you actually try with that design and get the cg right

[@SpaceZ_eus]

Love the channel. I've been watching for years and I love the content. Quick idea I have for your solar planes, I'd recommend trying/testing using non glare acrylic or anti-reflective glass glazing on the solar panels to increase the solar input on the panels. Not sure how much, if at all, this would help. But I'd like to see it tested and if there are any notable benefits.

[@AllSySt3msG0]

You could install a marco polo beacon on your plane to make it easier to find it in woods, brushes and whatever else nature throws at you. I've been using those to recover high power rockets in corn fields :)

[@Cadium_CG]

This is a miracle, I literally just finished the long range autonomous boat video. Keep it up man.

[@gnat6664]

Very Cool! Thanks for sharing. BTW, suspecting your Barometer was in the pressure wake of your high-alpha leading edge, which could cause the odd altitude variations ....

[@IamtheDill]

7:30 I was not ready for this..laughed way too hard.

[@beneklein413]

He sings in every video 😂👍

[@TibswarsSpartan]

Those dump "manual-MPPT" controller are awesome for their price, they turn on by themselve with little power if the voltage difference to output isn't that big. They also feature constant-current and constant-voltage adjustable which is also very convenient and makes them very versatile. Maybe not obvious but you have to manually track the MPP yourself. Downside is if manual MPPT adjustements is set to high, it may cut off power to soon, so maybe choose a voltage slightly below MPP incase for slightly less sunlight.

[@y.l.6229]

photons flying through the air, instead. Electrons are just 'energized' in the solar cells. Great flying solar panel though!

[@davisfamily9510]

You could try a plank design that actually flies well such as a Goblin or Drak. The goblin flies like a dream and would give you tons of space for solar and gear. Could even extend the wing and shrink the fuselage for more efficiency.

[@lucacianchette9570]

These inventions have “real” world use!

[@hotmailcompany52]

I could totes see this being used as a mapping drone for research expeditions. Maybe I should build a prototype because I always wanted to go on one xP

[@yankeespanky6570]

I'm jealous of people that live in such beautiful places like you do. What a nice little town in a valley.

[@TechGorilla1987]

Your channel entertains me and stimulates my brain. Thank you.

[@vahnlewis9749]

Love this. There are a lot of airfoil oriented websites that use a lot of math to describe airfoils. But you can fly with a sheet of plywood tilted slightly. The airfoil adds a bit of structure to the wing, but 90% of lift comes from pressure on the bottom of the wing (at slow speed, studied in the 1920's); of course, a better wing results from a slip streamed airfoil. It would be nice to again check on the advantages of the airfoil during varying speeds and directions to determine what fraction of lift Bernoulli vacuum contributes) I suspect the vertical tails on your original may have helped with flight stability.

[@sldkjh]

This reminds me of the first drone flight in my uncle's backyard. Little I knew that the cellphone tower next to his house would take over control! It flew straight out of sight! I searched about for an hour and then I found it. Out of sight it had taken a nose dive into the bushes, so it even had a soft landing. Yeah be careful with cellphone towers when you take your drone out for a flight, it might end like my adventure.

[@Andre_Thomasson]

my dad bought me my first 4 channel helicopter when i was 8, we took it to our grandparents house and turned it on. My dad wanted to fly it in but as soon as he turned the thing on it flew straight up atleast 30 meter and then flew full speed forward... we searched the entire neighborhood, and the nice neighbord offered help, but never found it again...

[@EricDenny]

Put those support strips on top of the wing and shape them like an airfoil. Then glue a super thin plank of foam board to that so you have an actual wing. That should 10x your lift, strength, solar output and solve all your stall problems in flight

[@KashifJarwar]

Rctestflight Your Videos are Awesome and Unique. Love Your videos from Pakistan 🇵🇰❤️.

[@electrobob1]

You could consider a forward swept wing for CG. And an airfoil to reduce wing incidence ;-) good luck!

[@alexmiranda6107]

I love the songs and that plane can fly it just needs more stability and the better charge controller

[@TsunoOkashi]

This channel is going to grow quickly now that people are finding it. Awesome videos.

[@electric1821]

10/10 music production. lyrics are always epic

[@greggv8]

Get a T12 size fluorescent light tube cover, split it lengthwise and use part of it for a lightweight aero cover for all the electronics on top. Form some foam into half cones for the ends.

[@Foxor83]

Haha. You got me qot me with that song @7:40 You are a legend!

Everything is getting better with this channel! The songs are just awesome touch :D

[@badmongo2996]

7:15 in .... Love the song. Made my day. I sing my swears at my projects. (to cover my frustration) .

[@CrashPilot1000]

Barometers are all over the place when getting sunlight. Keep them under foam an in the dark. Foam alone normally does not get it done. Sorry for my English.

[@botterboysypher9569]

Great background music during the flight

[@georgekurgansky5986]

The way it just flapped around! Insane! I can't believe it could fly!

[@panther105]

I can see where this is inevitably leading......A record attempt at 24 hours constant flying...yes that means only battery power through the night..

[@charleslambert3368]

bring a giant searchlight and fly it upside-down

[@a64738]

Here in North Norway we have now daylight for 2 months, sun do not go down because it is north of the polar circle...

[@AerialWaviator]

Daylight in June in this area is 18 hours, so only need ~6 hours of battery. ie: 5 Ah * 6 ... or about 6 batteries worth.

[@keithb6717]

Record is already almost 39 hours

[@AerialWaviator]

@@keithb6717 ~6 hours of battery would imply 48, or more hours possible. Weather then becomes major factor. Alternatively a combination of solar and wind, aka ridge soaring would work too. ;)

[@anyandalldiy6704]

I think it's awesome you got a sheet of foam to fly controlled. I've carried this stuff in the wind and had it break into many pieces and blow away... None however with the grace and style as your foam pieces.

[@azatecas]

these sountracks are perfect!

[@dr.projectx5142]

That is sweet, with better areo dynamics and with dose pannels will be awesome. Also I'm using 2 stratus LEDs as fog lights for my car nice and bight still working with the 2nd controller I bought it with, 3 years and still going strong Pal. Only use them in the back roads with no on coming cars.

[@alsnyder7017]

Technical question: Do you recommend using a BMS between MPPT and the battery, since the battery cells are constantly being charged by the PV ? Especially if you think on the long run?

[@lagging_barish3736]

A bms is almost always a good idea. Lost efficiency is worth it.

[@glennpaulserrano5641]

It may not be efficient and it is not pretty but it is a step forward to solar plane realization. Good job Sir! Hope to see more theory being proven in practice. Keep it up.

[@lubbl1234]

Another RC plane song, I love it!

[@maxlee3838]

Came for the plane, stayed for the music. Can’t wait for the full album to come out.

[@bewoo_fpv]

Pov; you clicked on the video to see a infinite flying plane

[@boogiman007]

That's cool you fly out of Woodinville, I'm in Bothell and used to fly EDFs at 22 acres like 10 years ago.

[@leeharrison3276]

Greatest song of all time

[@electrospank]

I am so happy you wrote that song in the middle. Great videos man!

[@boardsort]

I love the music! Get that man a laptop so he can "clear his mind" and create more music! Lol.

[@RWBHere]

Remember that you can also put tail fins and rudders below the wing, and they will work well.

[@wiredforstereo]

5:21 I repeat, you are not a pumpkin proctologist no matter what your diploma says.

[@albertogregory9678]

The song was the best part not going to lie. You have a wonderful voice :-)

[@butterbaybiscuits8694]

Super smart. Connecting a light to load to protect the battery was really smart

[@RallyRat]

The wing needs more torsional rigidity. Every time the speed went up the aero forces over powered the wing's stiffness and the control surfaces began acting like trim tabs. That resulted in reversal of roll control as speed went up. The strakes fixed the issue for pitch, but not roll.

[@CozzyKnowsBest]

The barometer may have odd airflow- but also they get totally messed up by sunlight penetrating their holes. Cover that mother up. Awesome song.

[@almosh3271]

I have always enjoyed to see how creative you are and how well you explain different concepts. Keep up the good work and two thumbs up !!!!

[@creamyhummus]

That song was totally unexpected but completely welcome. Nice work!

[@lookronjon]

Good show. Try a big flying wing. semi symmetrical tapered. 1/4” foam covering. Form ribs. Foam box spar. 8’ would be a great testbed. Weight is the enemy so keep it as light as possible. Every gram matters. You can figure it out.

[@pauljs75]

Some thin clear acrylic panels to make spars and vertical stabilizers with, and then clear plastic shrink wrap would make the top surface more of an airfoil while not really inhibiting too much light going to the panels. Other than that, I figure it could be pretty much the same internally. Given the slow speed, it probably do alright for something that's just meant to loiter over one spot.

[@jackjuhasz533]

I still watch your videos from when you were little. Great job !

[@willdrunkenstein5367]

I love the fact that you prefer functionality over appearance

[@andrewradford6267]

Probably already suggested or thought about it but move the mppt as weight ballast to the front and reduce the dead weight by not flying that second battery too. Thanks for the video too :)

[@toddabbott781]

Put some larger wingtips on the sides toward the back angled at a 45 degree angle. Make them large like 1 foot long and half the thickness of the wing. Put the larger charge controller in place of the second battery. You might need larger flaps too. You might try putting the motor and electronics below the wing surface to lower the center of balance a bit.

[@DaWalkDude]

Another spar perpendicular in the front to relocate the battery/motor/charge controller, and one more to stiffen the back and I say you'd have a very solid piece of aircraft there. Perhaps relocating the electronics underneath too? to keep them from unnecesary solar exposure.

[@MrNeutross]

Please try more on this end of the solar plane spectrum! Feels like this could work with some tweaking. Maybe a little more effort into making the pizza box a little stiffer and aerodynamic, fixing its center of gravity and using the better mppt-cotnroller.

[@wattage2007]

Good to see you're getting back into the flying projects again.