Design of Teaching Experiment for Flexible Thin Film Solar Cell Aircraft

A solar powered aircraft for teaching experiment was designed, for the purpose of new energy and aerospace engineering education. Based on the characteristics of flexible thin-film solar panels, the overall design of the aircraft was carried out using a “hypothesis verification” design process, with solar cell area and weight as inputs to design the overall layout. The propeller motor matching model was used to select the power system, achieving stable flight of the aircraft under pure solar power. The feasibility of the aircraft was demonstrated through theoretical calculations and simulations, and flight tests were conducted. The flight test results demonstrate that the aircraft can achieve sustained and stable flight relying solely on solar energy as the power source. This experiment has strong comprehensiveness, engineering practical significance, and good scalability.