Solar powered hybrid airships

Solar Ship is a buoyantly assisted aircraft, possible through a confluence of modern developments. Advanced aerodynamics, synthetic textile laminates, smart electronics, lightweight batteries, and high-efficiency photovoltaics are the enabling technologies that now allow us to realize the vision of a practical solar aircraft. Solar ship is a company based in Toronto, Canada.

By combining hybrid aerospace design with advanced propulsion, Solar Ship carries a truck’s payload, with greater flexibility than an airplane, with unrivaled efficiency. The design also scales well, with a payload that grows cubically as its size increases.

The Caracal (smallest version) is a compact Solar Ship targeted primarily at the General & Utility and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) markets. It features a solar-hybrid platform; extreme short take-off and landing capabilities; high endurance flight-time; category leading fuel efficiency; and easy add-on capacity for commercial and personal use tool-kits.

Solar Ship has designed three different concept aircraft, the smallest of which is the Caracal. This design has a claimed payload capacity of up to 750 kg (1,653 lb) for 2,500 km (1,553 miles) with a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).

Designed for remote areas where roads are a rarity and targeted at general, utility and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) markets, the Caracal can take off and land on strips as short as 50 m (164 ft) long but carrying the maximum payload requires strips of 100 m (328 ft).

Next step up in size is the mid-size Chui, which is targeted at ISR and cargo markets. Under solar power it can carry up to 2,500 kg (5,512 lb) over distances of up to 5,000 km (3,107 miles) at speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph). The take off and landing distances of the Chui are the same as the Caracal – 50 m (164 ft) empty and 100 m (328 ft) when fully loaded.

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