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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 radio controlled model airplane. The company is based in Irvine, California, USA. Early history 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 ...
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AstroFlight Sunrise
The AstroFlight Sunrise was an uncrewed experimental electric aircraft technology demonstrator and the first aircraft to fly on solar power. First conceived in November 1970, the Sunrise first flew on 4 November 1974 from Bicycle Lake, a dry lakebed on the Fort Irwin Military Reservation, California, United States. The first prototype was destroyed on its 28th flight by turbulence. The improved Sunrise II flew the following year. Development While working as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft, Roland Boucher began design work on an electric-powered aircraft concept in November 1970, calculating that the contemporary nickel-cadmium batteries available would be sufficient to sustain flight using a radio-control model glider. Early experimental projects proved the concept sound and in 1973 Boucher turned his attention to the creation of a high-altitude solar-powered aircraft that would have unlimited endurance. Boucher explained the project to his superiors at Hughes Aircraft in 197 ...
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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 radio controlled model airplane. The company is based in Irvine, California, USA. Early history 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 ...
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Solar Challenger
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. History The Solar Challenger was designed by a team led by Paul MacCready as a more airworthy improvement on the Gossamer Penguin, directly incorporating lessons learned from flight testing the earlier aircraft.Solar Challenger - E ...
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller and a system of communications with the UAV. The flight of UAVs may operate under remote control by a human operator, as remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy, such as autopilot assistance, up to fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications.Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Jang, I.; Arvin, F.; Lanzon, A.,A Decentralized Cluster Formation Containment Framework for Multirobot Systems IEEE Tra ...
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Gossamer Penguin
The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. MacCready, whose ''Gossamer Condor'' had made the first human-powered flight in 1977, told reporters two weeks in June, 1980 that "The first solar-powered flight ever made took place on May 18.""Plane flies on sun power", by Terrance W. McGarry, United Press International report in the ''Spokane (WA) Chronicle'', June 5, 1980, p12 The testing ground was at Minter Field outside of Shafter, California. The ''Penguin'' was a 3/4 scale version of the '' Gossamer Albatross II'', and had a 71 ft.(21.64 meter) wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of . The powerplant was an AstroFlight Astro-40 electric motor, driven 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 panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed . The official pilot ...
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Gossamer Penguin
The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. MacCready, whose ''Gossamer Condor'' had made the first human-powered flight in 1977, told reporters two weeks in June, 1980 that "The first solar-powered flight ever made took place on May 18.""Plane flies on sun power", by Terrance W. McGarry, United Press International report in the ''Spokane (WA) Chronicle'', June 5, 1980, p12 The testing ground was at Minter Field outside of Shafter, California. The ''Penguin'' was a 3/4 scale version of the '' Gossamer Albatross II'', and had a 71 ft.(21.64 meter) wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of . The powerplant was an AstroFlight Astro-40 electric motor, driven 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 panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed . The official pilot ...
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RAF Manston
Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport (KIA), since closed, and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC), following on from a long-standing training facility for RAF firefighters at the RAF Manston base. In March 2017, RAF Manston became the HQ for the 3rd Battalion, Princess of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR). History First World War At the outset of the World War I, First World War, the Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in anc ... was equipped with a small and precarious landing strip for aircraft at St Mildreds ...
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Steve Ptacek
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (other), several people * Steve Adams (other), several people * Steve Alaimo (born 1939), American singer, record & TV producer, label owner * Steve Albini (born 1961), American musician, record producer, audio engineer, and music journalist * Steve Allen (1921–2000), American television personality, musician, composer, comedian and writer * Steve Armitage (born 1944), British-born Canadian sports reporter * Steve Armstrong (born 1965), American professional wrestler * Steve Antin (born 1958), American actor * Steve Augarde (born 1950),arab author, artist, and eater * Steve Augeri (born 1959), American singer * Steve August (born 1954), American football player * Stone Cold Steve Austin (born 1964), American professional wrestler * Steve Aylett (born 1967), English author of satirical ...
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English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kanaal, "The Channel"; german: Ärmelkanal, "Sleeve Channel" ( French: ''la Manche;'' also called the British Channel or simply the Channel) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised by Britain as a natural def ...
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Shafter, California
Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located west-northwest of Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census. The city is located along State Route 43. Suburbs of Shafter include Myricks Corner, North Shafter, Smith Corner, and Thomas Lane. History The city of Shafter began as a loading dock along the Santa Fe Railroad (former San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad) right-of-way. The community was named for General William Rufus Shafter who commanded US Forces in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. Property was sold beginning in 1914 and the city incorporated on January 11, 1938. The first post office opened in 1898, moved in 1902, closed in 1905. A new postal service started in 1914. Also of historical note, Shafter is home to Minter Field, which began operations in June 1941 and saw heavy use during World War II. Approximately 7,000 troops were stationed at the airstrip which hosted ...
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Paul MacCready
Paul B. 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 to developing more efficient transportation vehicles that could "do more with less". Early life and education Born in New Haven, Connecticut to a medical family, MacCready was an inventor from an early age and won a national contest building a model flying machine at the age of 15. "I was always the smallest kid in the class ... by a good bit, and was not especially coordinated, and certainly not the athlete type, who enjoyed running around outside, and was socially kind of immature, not the comfortable leader, teenager type. And so, when I began getting into model airplanes, and getting into contests and creating new things, I probably got more psychological benefit from that than I would have from some of the other typical school things." Mac ...
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DuPont
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in the development of Delaware and first arose as a major supplier of gunpowder. DuPont developed many polymers such as Vespel, neoprene, nylon, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kapton, Kevlar, Zemdrain, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek, Sorona, Corfam and Lycra in the 20th century, and its scientists developed many chemicals, most notably Freon (chlorofluorocarbons), for the refrigerant industry. It also developed synthetic pigments and paints including ChromaFlair. In 2015, DuPont and the Dow Chemical Company agreed to a reorganization plan in which the two companies would merge and split into three. As a merged entity, DuPont simultaneously acquired Dow and renamed itself to DowDuPont on August 31, 2017, and after 18 months spin off the merged entity' ...
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