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A comment on Record-breaking hybrid drone stays aloft for over four hours.

Re:Record-breaking hybrid drone stays aloft for over four hours by Lerc on Friday December 29, 2017 @11:01PM (#16033788)
Something that has been on my mind for a while is how much efficiency is needed (and how far from that are we) to have a drone hold itself aloft on it's own solar power.

It's probably a bit tricky to get data on solar panel efficiency by weight.

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Re:Record-breaking hybrid drone stays aloft for over four hours by extrapickles on Saturday December 30, 2017 @12:27AM (#16033984)
You can have an easier time if the solar panels are mounted on the bottom of the drone, and you shine a large laser at them. Disclaimer: I am involved with a company that does it this way.

Nasa has built[0] a drone awhile back that flies on solar power, though it was limited to flights during daylight hours as not enough mass was available for enough batteries to last the night.

[0]: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/history/pastprojects/Era...

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Re:Record-breaking hybrid drone stays aloft for over four hours by aaronblohowiak on Friday December 29, 2017 @11:33PM (#16033863)
Why not LTA?
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