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Experimental radio-controlled model aircraft in flight An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft casts a unique shadow as it flies inside a Dryden hangar using only a spotlight as an energy source.

Photo Number: EC02-0179-11

Photo Date: August 1, 2002

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Photo
Description:

An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft is seen here in flight powered only by light energy beamed to it by a spotlight.


Project
Description:

A spotlight is illuminating a concept that could energize future aircraft and spacecraft. Using an experimental radio-controlled model aircraft, researchers at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, are proving that beamed light can be used to power an aircraft.

The featherweight 9.25-ounce aircraft set a world record of sorts July 29, 2002, when it was flown inside a Dryden hangar using a spotlight as an energy source. The spotlight beamed power to a solar panel attached the the underside of the fuselage that converted the light into electrical energy for its tiny, six-watt motor.

The aircraft soared smoothly into the record books with a 10-minute flight that marked the first time light energy has been beamed to power an aircraft for stable, continuous flight. According to Dryden's David Bushman, project manager for the beamed light aircraft, an aircraft was flown using microwave energy 20 years ago, but this is the first known demonstration of beaming light energy to fly an airplane. The model aircraft in this July 29 demonstration was controlled using the same over-the-counter radio control equipment commonly used by model aircraft hobby enthusiasts.

Potential applications for this technology are being researched through a collaborative effort between Dryden and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Researchers intend to use the same aircraft, but use a laser developed at Marshall as a power source, Bushman said. Marshall also provided the 34 by 9 inch solar panel used on the five-foot wingspan research aircraft.

The power-beam research aircraft is elegant in its simplicity, using mostly commercially available model airplane motors, aircraft systems and materials. Although the aircraft has some carbon fiber parts, such as the leading edge, spars and propeller, most of the airplane is built from balsa wood and shrink-wrap-like plastic material. The Dryden trio of Tony Frackowiak, Dale Reed, and Alex Sim designed the aircraft, which Frackowiak fabricated in the Dryden Model Lab.

As an intermediate step from flying laps in a hangar to flying with laser beamed power above adjacent Rogers Dry Lake, Bushman and his team also conducted a series of research flights in a larger hangar. The project manager used two spotlights to examine some of the broader issues of beaming energy. Included in this flight series was the development of procedures and operations and the methodology of "handing off" the aircraft from one power beam to the next.

"While visible light disperses its energy over distance, lasers are not affected in the same manner and can transmit light energy over great distances," Bushman added. "A spotlight was used in the preliminary research as a proof-of-concept before advancing to more expensive lasers."


NASA Photo by: Tom Tschida

Keywords:

Power-Beaming, power beaming, experimental radio-controlled model aircraft, spotlight, solar panel, Dave Bushman, Tony Frackowiak, Dale Reed, Alex Sim, Ryan Warner, Derrick Barrett




Last Modified: October 16, 2002
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