SOLAR FPV Plane V3 Crash and Testing - RCTESTFLIGHT

More testing with the solar plane V3. Luckily it survived my bad decision making. I'll do the next test flight in mid August with a 5S.
Many people have suggested using an MPPT charge controller instead of a direct solar tie in. I've tested a Genasun controller with solar plane V1 and it ended up not being as efficient as I had hoped.
Help support my KZbin channel: / danielriley

[@lacucaracha111111]

thats not a crash, thats an A+ emergency landing

[@janrie7330]

lacucaracha111111 every Landing is a controlled crash!

[@MrTetsaga]

every crash is an uncontrolled landing, then.

[@SeanHodgins]

You seem to imply that is not true.

[@christopherleveck6835]

i can land anywhere. once.

[@Smt_Glaive]

3:48 well..... thermals are pure solar power.... so to speak...👍

[@ayylenny949]

Actually the thermals are caused by a flat earth falling down through space

[@janrie7330]

YES; OF COURSE! and Gravity is caused by Flat earth flying up at the same time, makes perfect sense!

[@MishoIV]

Gravity force is produced by mass and not by accelerating up. This doesn't disprove flat earth theory.

[@janrie7330]

but Flat earth would form a ball because Grvity is pulling stronger on the Outside then the inside.

[@ayylenny949]

So why is it that when the earth turns upside down everyone falls off

[@toreer66]

I was happy to see that the wings survived this time.

[@Marten..]

i hope that you'll continue to do videos while travelling, im always looking foreward to your videos!

[@habiks]

mppt is the way to go.. having it connected directly is a lottery.. specially when the battery is getting low, you can start asking too much amps out of PVC and the voltage will drop also.. P=U*I.. mppt will try to ballance U and I so that the P is maxed no matter how low the impedance (battery level).. same problem when battery is full, only then you don't need charging at all.

[@habiks]

Think of it this way.. open circuit PVC has high voltage, no current running.. power = 0. A short circuit PVC has some amps, 0 volts.. power = 0.. somewhere in between there is a sweet spot.

[@sgaleta]

i belive that even if the solar cells are in the most eficient array, because the amount of radiance from the sun changes too much (because plane orentation), and because of the nature of lipo bateries the voltage also changes the best thing to do is use an mppt. if the mppt is noy used then the solar cells are just useless. and in the wors case depending on the enviroment thr cells can discharge the battery.

[@AssidiousBlue]

1/2 I actually suspect things would go better with a proper switching circuit; an MPPT controller is effectively a buck circuit and designed to chop high voltage down to a lower battery voltage. With the solar panel in parallel with the battery, the battery is going to determine the output on the cell based on the charge of the battery, and the cell will produce less efficiently at lower voltages in the current setup.

[@AssidiousBlue]

2/2 You loose efficiency ( 5 to 25%) by going through the buck converter, and it's not very useful if you're actually almost at the voltage you need anyway. I'm also concerned about the battery charging/being overvoltage. A hybrid approach which actively switches between battery and solar to the ESC, incorporates constant voltage charging and ideally included the ESC, would be ideal. This is, however, a non-trivial Electrial engineering and software task.

[@Nimbos0]

Question. I am not very knowledgeable in electronics but would it be better for the power coming from the PVC to go into something that would smooth it out before it went to the ESC or does the ESC do that itself? And please feel free to correct me if I am worng. Just trying to learn.

[@flyawayandyk2916]

Awesome ! Lovely solar power FPV ...... Thanks your video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 ☀️✈️

[@NickMoore]

Bad luck on the crash but I cant wait to see if you get it fully solar. Great work!

[@GiulioBerti]

It's nice to see progress in this project! Keep it up!

[@fuba44]

Thanks for the great update! Have a nice trip!!

[@hilldaflyer4593]

Very exciting to see this baby fly again. Love the progress. I'm so glad the landing was relatively safe considering the circumstances. Way to go!

[@blackmennewstyle]

This solar FPV plane videos are so damned exciting

[@meeforspirit]

Amazing! Enjoy your trips! looking forward to next episode in august!

[@rkornilo]

Love your work. Crossing my fingers for your next test flight.

[@MrScooter46290]

This project is awesome. I hope you find stuff to share with us from your trip.

[@RSmerlinRS]

cant wait for august

[@quarklan]

Good thing you are an experienced pilot Daniel, those crashes could have been catastrophic. Have an awesome time in Nepal and Thailand! Namaste!

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

Watt a fantastic project you've been developing here. You are soooooo close to success, I can almost taste it. Keep the magic happening bro :) .

[@swipemagnetron]

Looking forward to your follow up! Enjoy your travels. God speed.

[@toorich111]

good luck bro, thanks for another great video!

[@sparrowthenerd]

8:25 and forward a few seconds. Wow! That was an epic emergency landing!

[@LazerLord10]

Do you have a patch antenna for your FPV gear? Because it's directional, you could point it around and see which direction the craft is in.

[@err_kk]

Can't wait for August! Have a safe trip!

[@hothothotmale]

Love your tenancity dude. I enjoy following your projects.

[@schmudge]

Another awesome go at beating gravity.Keep that spirit flying!

[@NeilvanGeffen]

I'm so excited to watch this!

[@1039736]

Instant sub, episode 6 was gorgeous btw. I can't believe the wing flex isn't cracking the mono panels good job

[@jamesfieweger8648]

I've been eagerly awaiting this video since spring.

[@DAS-Videos]

Why have I not found this channel until now. Great videos.

[@StephenTack]

Nice catch!

[@Herr_Jehmineh]

I like your experiments a lot!

[@TaiViinikka]

Great build and investigation. Hoping to hear more about your experiments with charge controllers next time. I wish you safe travels in the East!

[@Grevlain]

Stone cold rocket man there bud, catching that dead-stick. Nice!

[@T-Sav]

Been waiting for this!

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Elegant plane! Love the Head up display type camera!!

[@IzakGt]

Great video! I saw, crash in the title and when you said you taped the elevator, I was like NOOOOoooooooo. Great landing though! Both times!

[@Jangatayo]

Nice save! Good flight.

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

adding a folding prop or at least adding break to the esc would help.

[@HayBeseret]

enjoyed the video very much. have fun in your trip.

[@MrChuckmason]

Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work.

[@Tsnafu]

Very interesting. Have fun in Thailand Daniel, don't catch anything nasty :-)

[@zachfranson867]

Great video man, awesome solar glider

[@Johncoffee2002]

Nice job ! Well done. I like it!

[@call911forcookies2]

Very nice video i truly enjoyed!

[@hainzmullner4185]

hey, great video and project in general, I followed it from the start until now. For a somehow similar project we needed to charge and discharge the battery for many times during use, so here I will tell you my experiences for your problem with the too low solar cell voltage (or too high LiPo voltage). In the course of a diploma thesis we used a gasoline engine and a generator to create the energie for a X12-Copter with 20kg take of weight instead of LiPo batteries, in order to achive longer flight times (due to the times 80 higher energie density of petrol). We discovered the following: LiPos do not like to be charged and discharged in a rapid sequence, so it will die quite soon. Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePo4) batteries are much better for this purpose, furthermore they can handle higher charging rates too. We used a DIY 7S battery out of A123 System 2500mAh LiFePo4 cells (like the one TESLA uses). For your purpose it would be ideal, because the nominal and maximum voltage of LiFePo4s is lower than LiPos (3.3V nominal and 3.6 maximum), a 6S LiFePo4 will have a maximum of 21.6V. Furthermore, they are more rigit and because the battery consists of single cells, you can distribute them in the plane as you like to achive the best CG. Hope I could help a bit, for further information feel free to contact me, and keep up the good work!!

[@GaryVolts]

Ya, LiFePo4 would be a good choice since apart from having lower energy density, are more like ideal batteries with superior power density. They make some smaller 1000mAh cells that would be better for this application. They aren't really being abused like your application sounds like but they would be good here.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

I'm 72 years old and not as quick as you probably are. When I'm traipsing around in snake infested grass, I carry a 38 caliber revolver with number 9 rat shot. It's basically just a point-and-click system and will turn a diamond back into confetti 20 feet away. Food for thought.

[@cadude145]

you are really great, they way you figure it out and then explain it to us. thank you

[@marcusdutra7091]

Why dont you wire a small dc-dc buck booster converter between the solar panels output and the esc? Set the converter to output constant 25.2V and also limit its current to max solar panel output current or to your battery max charging rate (if solar panels could provide such high amp) whichever is lower. Put a compatible diode in series with battery to prevent battery to "charge" the solar panel. No mater the input voltage from solar panels, your motor/battery will be able to suck any small amp from the panels (just like solar systems usually do).

[@GaryVolts]

In what way is the electricity different if it comes from a solar panel and battery than from a Dc-dc converter? You're just paying the penalty of the losses from the conversion and creating a bunch of switching noise in your airplane.

[@sok8888]

Dude, you have no idea what you are talking about. Dutra is right. Trust me. The setup in this video is just asking for a crash. Which would you prefer - reliability OR 2 more minutes of flight time? Moreover, the entire purpose of the solar panel is so that he can get unlimited juice.

[@GaryVolts]

With all due respect, the problems he had with his ESC control weren't fundamentally caused by his connection between the solar panel and the battery. The ESC just needs a low impedance path to a power source in the voltage range that its designed to operate. From the standpoint of the ESC, it just thinks its connected to a battery, which is the typical way you power an electric power airplane.

[@marcusdutra7091]

Solar panels dc voltage output is a function of solar incidence on panels and it may be much lower (and usually is) than the max voltage the solar panel is rated and also much lower than your lipo voltage as well. It may happen during all the flight... In addition to that, if a solar panel is loaded, its voltage will drop (in a similar way than lipos suffer from voltage sag under load).... you need a dc-dc buck-booster converter just as any solar system does (in order to store the available energy from panels in li-ion cell packs in home systems), no matter there is a shiny bright sun outside or a lot of clouds.

[@frogcassady]

I agree with Durta. The way he has it set up if the solar panels are not making more power than the battery is providing they are dead weight. The output of the buck converter would at least take some of the load from the battery which will extend his flight time. His wing might not have enough surface area to reliably power the whole aircraft.

[@MichaelKGizzonimo]

Beautiful plane! Even after the ditch! I learn good things from watching You're diagnostics of the flights. Though My plane is conventional, You are dealing with the same laws of physics. I agree with the other postings about continuing to post of Your travels!!!

[@qriketvibes2017]

I'm here before this becomes viral! (2k views)

[@DanielFCutter]

Great video--a pleasure to watch and learn.. Let us know when you make your first million.

[@carelpienaar8486]

Wonderful research! Thank you!

[@markgiles8527]

Good job catching the Plane. :D

[@DeadlyVoltsHD]

I remember when you built planes out of foam this is just mind blowing to see your channel now

[@AnikiDomo]

great catch :D

[@SanderPool]

Thanks for posting this excellent video. I'm impressed with the quality of your solar wing, it looks really great. Using a charge controller (MPPT or PWM) is the way to go. There are good reasons why every solar installation uses them and you are probably aware of them. I'll just mention the most important one for you which is optimizing solar output. As you've seen the efficiency of the panels depends on the load that is put on them. That is why MPPT are called what they are called. They use DC/DC conversion to put the panels in the best possible load scenario even if the target load is different. 5s Vs 6s depends only on how you want to drive your motor. If your motor can handle 6s then that would be the battery to use. Then find an MPPT for that voltage. Good luck with your project and I hope you keep posting updates. Your plan to test on the ground makes sense of course. Your LED load is a bit exotic when a simple heat dump would do but it makes for good youtubing.

[@AndyShell]

holly shit you grabbed that plane like a boss. dam man. great video

[@ZeusFace101]

This channel is so good 👌🏻

[@LossyLossnitzer]

Thank you - that was a cool plane. Have a good trip to Thailand/Nepal

[@WildCaptures]

Really cool project👍

[@AboxofMonsters]

That's a worthwhile project bro. You may get a contract from the military or gov. Amazing.

[@danielprivate7442]

Nice catch.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Not so bad decision making, you (and we) learned a lot. If you covered the wing-fuselage area and gave the plane some small aerodynamic refinements you might get by on fractionally less amperage. I would be interested to find the importance of each parameter (relative to each other). A beautifully engineered aircraft. Quite an achievement.

[@a610412]

Love your videos!!!!

[@aaronyeiser5509]

Great video! I would recommend watching GreatScott's videos on solar charge converters. You should also include a cutoff circuit to prevent overcharging your lipos, especially when using the 5S battery.

[@Vidicon31]

i like your solar plane

[@scottdejong3929]

favorite series on yt

[@amiralilav6083]

i liked your work well done

[@robertnicoll9712]

If you're able to arrange the panels in strings that give 30-36 volts you could try a tiny PWM solar reg, or if you can get PV volts between 30 & 60 you could try to get hands on a small MPPT and use that. Either way, add a current sensor inline after the PV reg before it connects to the power system, then you can subtract PV gen current from the ESC drawn current and hopefully display that somewhere in the OSD, that way you'll know that a reading of 0A means power neutral, a positive reading means battery is charging and a negative reading means battery is discharging. I like your project, good luck with it!

[@matthewbarnard461]

That's awesome! inspired me to try building one similar to yours

[@dronesurf2326]

wow good job sir !

[@tr4nscend]

Have a safe vacation!

[@yyassine2]

ohhh, good catch. hahaha. good men. i love what you are doing

[@LazerLord10]

Seems like you could just run it off of direct solar without a battery. I'd think of it like a glider with a solar boost. Perhaps the control surfaces and FPV gear could be powered by a normal battery, and the ESC would only be powered by the solar panels.

[@buzz3890]

wow Such a cool concept to use solar on your plane.

[@GaryVolts]

One ironic thing about this test flight is that it shows that the solar energy heating the ground, creating thermals, is as much a factor for sustained flight as the photovoltaics in the wings. The same conditions for maximum solar electricity (midday sun) are the same for making thermals. A wing with large enough area to collect the needed solar energy is also large enough to thermal well.

[@ruedogs]

great work :)

[@GaryVolts]

You're on the right track with the direct connection between the cells and the battery. When you take off with a full battery you should expect that you aren't delivering any power to the battery, its already full. And that extra solar power if it isn't consumed by your motor then you didn't want it anyway. As the flight wears on, if the battery voltage drops, then it will become more receptive to solar energy and it will reach an equilibrium voltage as the charging efficiency goes up to meet the falling battery voltage. The trick is that the unloaded solar array voltage shouldn't exceed the max voltage of your battery. Also, I don't think you need that diode, its just extra loss, the solar cells are already diodes (PN junctions) themselves. You also want a small (light weight) battery if your goal is sustained SOLAR flight. Its mainly there as a buffer, and emergency fly home energy source when the sun gets too low in the sky.

[@CorruptedPixl]

This is awesome!

[@hegedusrp]

I would make a lipo charger that is light and small using a dc-dc step-down module (or step-up depending on the voltage difference) and a shunt resistor to measure the amps. The output voltage could be adjusted by an arduino(nano) depending of the current this could be an proper lipo charger with constant current. It is also similar to a power led driver and I know you are into LEDs ;) Keep up the amazing job Daniel!

[@funtimess2995]

You should consider using an electronic voltage regulator to make solar cell output constant throughout the flight. Furthermore, I would get Lipo disconnected and allow solar to take over while in flight. This way your Lipo is your backup battery in case of emergency. To accomplish all this, I would power the receiver, servos, FPV everything via separate power source. So you will need two batteries. One for Motor and ESC. One power source for RX, FPV, Servos. An electronic voltage regulator to stabilize the solar power.

[@PinkyTaDa]

nice catch

[@ShipwreckedMonki]

What a catch!

[@Tryin2FlyII]

Lmao "Get bit by a big snick" not once but twice he said that to funny dude!- Good video keep up the research

[@Tryin2FlyII]

Oh wait maybe "sneck" was the 2nd one lol

[@HowToDIYRc]

wow charging a 5s with 80watts that a lot... nice job looking forward to the test flight mate

[@thomasrusso6722]

I love how you call a snake a snek

[@nikivan]

Have a nice trip.

[@mrpaulkennedy]

I'm interested to see where you take this project. It's being done by a few other groups and organisations. I don't know much about the power supply process for balancing power sources but I'm sure there is information and existing technology to help you design the most efficient system. Maybe switching between solar and battery, allowing for excess solar energy to be stored, or some kind of continuous balancing circuit. Or even two separate circuit for redundancy. I'm sure there's a number of options. Good stuff mate, your interest is fuelling my interest.

[@markyounger319]

Great video - love the concept! I will be staying tuned to see this project evolve for sure. Something I have been thinking about, but don't have the know-how... yet... Which OSD are you using here? Oh, and I REALLY hope you are taking something FPV with you to Thailand & Nepal! :-)

[@Z06Fred]

good catch

[@smac919]

what's the flight time on a good clear day? do you have batteries for the hd cam & fpv cam? or are they both powered by the solar panels..? Id take the HD cam off of it if so. or use a small lipo for the hdcam..

[@Vadatajs666]

good catch :) !!!

[@macg5srock]

Great video, wonderful project, but because your graph has two different voltage legends it hides that your power problem for your solar panel is completely voltage based. Also, you could build a rudimentary solar controller that matches voltages by switching in and out a string of diodes to allow the panels to sit at the voltage they prefer (18.whatever) while providing good power to a lower voltage battery.

[@kurtpalmer3674]

Would love to see some build videos on this beast one thing I've noticed is that your solar panels are set down in the wings and will likely suffer some shade from the wing structure and since any shade on any part of a solar cell severely affects the overall performance of a solar cell and in turn the whole string 😊

[@BirdRunHD]

That was sick. Have a good trip to Thailand.

[@demetriusvasconcelos5866]

Very nice... Cool!!! Good job :) :) :)

[@yelectric1893]

Great job

[@coby9002]

Felicidades, me gustó tu proyecto!! 👏👏👏👏👏👍

[@envienby]

great video

[@zinita7715]

👍 for catching that airplane.

[@dinner85]

Use a boost/buck converter to get the right power from the solar cells. Place some storage capacitors before and after the boost/buck. If you can use a zener diode operated relay or fet to drain the solar charged caps to feed the boost/buck once the operating voltage is reached in the storage caps.That avoids the low power fault associated with boost/buck converters. Good luck.