Design considerations for a low altitude long endurance solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle

This paper presents design considerations for a low altitude long endurance solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle (LALE UAV). The considerations addressed include the determination of the available solar power, the design of the UAV wing for long endurance flights and the determination of the electrical power and energy balance of the UAV. Using these considerations, a solar powered UAV was designed and long endurance flight simulated Based on the simulation results it is in principle possible to design and build a solar powered LALE UAV.