Gossamer Penguin
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The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by
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 dev ...
's AeroVironment. MacCready, whose ''
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 ...
'' 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 Minter may refer to: Places in the United States *Minter, Alabama, an unincorporated community *Minter Village, California, an unincorporated community *Minter City, Mississippi Minter City is an unincorporated community in Leflore County and ...
outside of
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 Sha ...
. 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 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 electri ...
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 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 at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
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


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References

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