Facebook Aquila's Successful Test Flight

This blog is about the Successful flight test of a Solar plane aimed to deliver Internet access to remote areas in the world, known as Facebook Aquila's.

Facebook Aquila completed its first flight on June 28th; this is a solar -powered plane that aims to deliver internet access to the remote parts of the world and eventually break the world record of unmanned aircraft with longest flight.

The test flight took place in Yuma, Arizona. The mission was to fly the aircraft for 30 minutes but when it started flying effortlessly, it was kept for 96 minutes in the air. After two years of researching on its model and working hard on its design, Aquila aircraft is finally ready to fly.

“But as big as this milestone is, we still have a lot of work to do. Eventually, our goal is to have a fleet of Aquila's flying together at 60,000 feet, communicating with each other with lasers and staying aloft for months at a time – something that’s never been done before.”, commented Mark Zuckerberg.

Here are some of the fascinating features of this aircraft:

Weight

Engineers have worked hard to improve the weight of the aircraft as it plays an essential role in the overall performance of the plane. Aquila is made by carbon fiber composites; these are widely used in the aviation industry due to its eye-opening features. The weight of the aircraft is less than 1,000 pounds.

Power

The Aquila aircraft is fitted with efficient solar panels which are capable of collecting enough amount of energy to keep its system running even when it’s dark. It consumes 5,000 W of power at cruising speed which is almost equal to three hairdryers. Engineers are doing their best to trim down the amount of power input and improve efficiency.

Control

The aircraft requires a lot of skilled ground crew members including engineers, pilots and technicians who are skilled and trained enough to maintain and monitor the aircraft. The technicians monitor the aircraft through a certain software which helps them in keeping track of the altitude and airspeed and can be useful when sending the aircraft on a GPS-based route.

Speed

Aquila is a slow aircraft; its speed is purposely kept at such a level in order to conserve energy. However, at a higher altitude, the aircraft will need to go faster – about 80mph as the air gets thinner.

Altitude

Engineers are still experimenting on Aquila to check and improve its performance at colder altitudes where its density will be 10 times more. They’re also trying to reduce its power consumption.

Load

Understanding the load is really crucial; a big portion of it comes from high energy batteries. Engineers are looking for more flights to interpret in-flight dynamics and predict whether there are any setbacks.

Communications

Using communications payload, which uses lasers to transfer data 10 times faster and laser beams hitting a dime 11 miles away in an accurate motion, is a great achievement yet to be made.

“Over the next year we’re going to keep testing Aquila — flying higher and longer, and adding more planes and payloads. It’s all part of our mission to connect the world and help more of the 4 billion people who are not online access all the opportunities of the internet.” – Mark Zuckerberg

(Sources used: Mark Zuckerberg, 2016 “The Technology Behind Aquila”; TheGuardian.com; Billboard.com)

Featured Image Credit: (NetworkedIndia.com Photo)