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Pathfinder-Plus

The Pathfinder / Pathfinder-Plus is a lightweight, solar-powered, remotely piloted flying wing aircraft that demonstrated the technology of applying solar power for long-duration, high-altitude flight. It was literally the pathfinder for a future fleet of solar-powered aircraft that could stay airborne for weeks or months on scientific sampling and imaging missions.

Solar arrays covering most of the upper wing surface provided power for the aircraft's electric motors, avionics, communications and other electronic systems. Pathfinder also had a backup battery system that could provide power for between two and five hours to allow limited-duration flight after dark.

Pathfinder flew at an airspeed of only 15 to 25 mph. Although pitch control was maintained by the use of tiny elevons on the trailing edge of the wing, turns and yaw control were accomplished by slowing down or speeding up the motors on the outboard sections of the wing.

Pathfinder was designed, built and operated by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., the firm that developed the pioneering Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger solar-powered aircraft in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

During 1998, the Pathfinder was modified into the extended-wing Pathfinder-Plus configuration. On Aug. 6, 1998, the modified aircraft was flown to a record altitude of 80,201 feet for propeller-driven aircraft. The goal of the flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion and systems technology developed for the Pathfinder's successor, the Helios Prototype, which reached a sustained altitude of almost 97,000 feet in 2001, and other potential solar-powered derivatives in the future.

Essentially a transitional vehicle between the Pathfinder and the follow-on solar aircraft, the Pathfinder-Plus is a hybrid of the technology that was employed on Pathfinder and developed for the Helios.

For more on the Pathfinder and Pathfinder-Plus, see the fact sheet at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-034-DFRC.html

DFRC Photo # Photo Date Image Description
  Skip links in main table Pathfinder-Plus Photo Collection Contact Sheet
ED07-0015-2 January 24, 2007 AeroVironment crew chief Mark Shipley applies sealing tape to a wing joint on Pathfinder-Plus before it is hoisted into place at the NASM's Udvar-Hazy Center.
ED07-0015-1 January 24, 2007 The record-setting AeroVironment/NASA Pathfinder-Plus solar-electric flying wing is enshrined in the National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center.
News Release 05-58 Turbulence Tests Completed at Dryden
EC05-0201-13 September 14, 2005 With sensor booms projecting ahead of the wing, the Pathfinder-Plus soars under a blue sky on its final turbulence measurement research flight.
EC05-0201-08 September 14, 2005 The Atmospheric Turbulence Measurement System booms extend forward from the Pathfinder-Plus solar wing as it soars over Rogers Dry Lake.
EC05-0201-04 September 14, 2005 The Pathfinder-Plus solar-electric flying wing lifts off Rogers Dry Lake adjoining NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on a turbulence-measurement flight.
EC05-0186-31 August 31, 2005 The Pathfinder-Plus solar aircraft flies past NASA Dryden's space shuttle hangar and shuttle carrier aircraft as it descends for landing on Rogers Dry Lake.
EC05-0186-28 August 31, 2005 With sensor booms projecting ahead of the wing, the Pathfinder-Plus soars under a blue sky on a turbulence measurement research flight.
EC05-0186-24 August 31, 2005 AeroVironment technicians prepare to remove the Pathfinder-Plus solar aircraft from its ground dolly before a turbulence measurement flight.
EC05-0186-18 August 31, 2005 AeroVironment pilot Wyatt Sadler controls the Pathfinder-Plus flying wing from a small console, video and computer monitors in the ground station.
EC05-0186-17 August 31, 2005 AeroVironment engineers and technicians closely monitor flight data in the ground control station during the Pathfinder-Plus' turbulence measurement flights.
EC05-0186-12 August 31, 2005 The Atmospheric Turbulence Measurement System booms are clearly evident in this view of the Pathfinder-Plus solar aircraft as it flies over Rogers Dry Lake.
EC05-0186-06 August 31, 2005 With turbulence-measurement booms projecting ahead of the wing, Pathfinder-Plus soars aloft over Rogers Dry Lake on its final research flight from NASA Dryden.
EC05-0186-05 August 31, 2005 The Pathfinder-Plus solar-electric flying wing lifts off Rogers Dry Lake adjoining NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on a turbulence-measurement flight.
EC05-0186-04 August 31, 2005 As the rising sun dawns over the parched bed of Rogers Dry Lake, AeroVironment's solar-electric Pathfinder-Plus awaits takeoff on its final research flight.
EC04-0277-19 September 17, 2004 AeroVironment's Jim Daley, Rik Meininger, Derek Lisoski and Wyatt Sadler (clockwise from bottom left) closely monitor systems testing of the Pathfinder-Plus.
EC04-0277-11 September 17, 2004 Sensitive instruments on wing-mounted booms measure air turbulence and its effect on the stability of the Pathfinder-Plus solar-electric flying wing.
EC04-0277-08 September 17, 2004 AeroVironment ground crew check out the operation of the Pathfinder-Plus solar aircraft's electric motors during combined systems tests on Rogers Dry Lake.
 
ED02-0161-2 June 24, 2002 Pathfinder-Plus flight in Hawaii
ED02-0161-1 June 24, 2002 Pathfinder-Plus flight in Hawaii
EC99-45210-1 October 14, 1999 Helios Prototype and Pathfinder-Plus on Dryden Ramp.
EC98-44629-78 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii
EC98-44629-64 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands
EC98-44629-58 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii
EC98-44629-53 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on a flight in Hawaii
EC98-44621-5 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight in Hawaii
EC98-44621-40 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands, with N'ihau and Lehua in the background
EC98-44621-36 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight near Hawaiian island N'ihau
EC98-44621-30 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian island N'ihau
EC98-44621-3 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus takes off on flight in Hawaii
EC98-44621-252 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian island N'ihau
EC98-44621-25 June 17, 1998 Pathfinder-Plus on a flight over Hawaiian island N'ihau
 


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