The culmination of years of work, here is a first peak at my solar powered airship design. This one is intended to operate as a drone. I also wish to eventually make larger and higher performance airships for other purposes, like private aircraft and cargo transportation.
The advantages of this drone design is that it is long range and high endurance because it can be flown on solar power.
I feel you should battle these
Made you look
your love for airships is just awesome
The idea of a solar/battery powered airship/blimp came to me as well a few years ago, kudos to you for actually making the thing!! :) Really nice!!
Epic! That is just the best airship type thing i have seen in the real world!! Well done!
Wow this is incredibly smart, props to you, best of luck!
Awesome blimp! It almost looks like you're in Joseph, Oregon :)
“Cargo transportation” - 3 years later Amazon patented 😅
Kickstarter !!! i would totaly pledge to you ! this is amazing hope your still working on it
love to see people making solar anything. this is really cool and wouldn't mind putting a bed underneath so I can lay down and touch the clouds.lol nice job on your blimp
I think this is really smart and shows us the way ahead.
Awesome!! I can see this being implemented in lots of ways! Great job :)
Thanks!
Someday we may have a positively-buoyant, stiff, carbon aerogel membrane that stores electricity and contains a vacuum. With the right aerodynamics, solar film and ion thrusters could propel it basically forever.
BaccaYarro, We've spoken before over the planetminecraft link for movecraft. I don't expect you to remember. What you're doing here is AWESOME I'm playing on a server where EVERYTHING revolves around your plugin. (SpaceQuest) Your plugin is amazing! Blimp construction is a really cool entrepreneurship that if I wasn't 15, I would join you in your quest to achieve greater heights with less power, and environment destruction. Blimps pose SO MANY advantages over helicopters, and commercial Airliners. Though blimps, and airships need to be larger to function properly, it is still a cleaner alternative to the vehicle we have running these kinds of operations. Keep pursuing the better future of which you promise us as you continue to build greater, and greater creations! -Thugpug95 AKA ryco50
You finally got it out, congrats bacca!
I hope you didn't try to patent the idea of a solar powered blimp, coz there's already plenty of prior work in that regard. The "Hyperblimp" from years ago comes to mind, your blimp looks the same as it.
Well give this guy a large blimp and wish him a lot of succes................
I love it it is an awesome airship and I really like the design!!!
Cool craft, man :) I look forward to the final form :)
nice work and good design, keep on it.
Set it up for ultra long range and do a cross country run with it
Your Airship Drone looks like a Zeppelin - that's fine !
Great project, my only suggestion would be to use very low rpm motors, with large slow turning props with little pitch. this will greatly help efficiency, as the airspeed is so low, and the near-static thrust is what is most important.
Bradley: Yeah, I remember back when it was Project Walrus. It's a good idea, and I hope it works. But it's a different direction than what I'm taking here. I experimented with a wide-body design like the one used by that airship. I found that while it did help with stability on the ground, which is the goal of the Dragon Dream, it hurt stability in the air. I'm more interested in solar powered flight for airships, and for that I will need maximum stability in the air, and a minimum profile against the flow of air. So that means a long and tapered shape.
OK, cool
BaccaYarro I am wondering what type of solar panels you use. Because cells like CadTel can work fantastic both in direct sunlight and with indirect blue light. Japanese tests show 20% efficiency under blue light. These panels can be screen printed, are very flexible, High output (not to mention manufactured yourself at a very cheap cost) Preferred method is the Japanese method with some DIY cheaper alternative replacements. Msg Me if you want patents and methods. For a while my neighbor worked for Next Era power (fp&l to those that live in Florida) as the head of the solar division. He had a few of their panels that they use in their solar arrays. 4ft x 1.7ft panels produce 550w, 55v 10A and cost 200 to manufacture or 500 if purchased from a 3rd party manufacturer made to specification. What a great Idea I hope you take it even further!
Once Asleep Somehow I missed this post, and I don't know if you are still around. So far I have restricted myself to off-the-shelf solar cells, but I am intrigued by the ones you are talking about. Can you tell me more about how they are made, or how I could go about testing them?
The British and the Russians had similar projects back in the 70ies and 80ies, their airships were disc-shaped and used heated gases instead of ballast. The aerodynamics of the ship were a kind of better that way than that of a cigar-shaped one (I guess by side-wind), and the volume anyway. (you can also google "ala-40")
Nice! I was thinking if you made it black so that the envelope is also being heated by the sunlight you could get greater lift. Have you tried that?
what else is on Look up his patent application.
To much lift is also kinda bad, you just want to have enough lift to make it hover on the same height
@@moritzk3004 more lift = more payload or stronger motors. When it cools the craft would sink, requiring more battery capacity. It's an interesting idea but the margins would be slim or none
@@johnmartensen4278 more lift would mean a constant up or down force which would need to be countered by an active propulsion system, which would mean more needed weight Sunlight and heat aren't constant means you cant tune your lift gained from it
Cool. I would use both types of solar cells for better coverage, not just one type. I would also add more thrusters for better movement in all three dimensions. The outer envelope seems rather thin, I noticed puffs of air affecting it. You may want to add external carbon fiber bracing, sort of a reverse zeppelin design, which has internal rigidity. Good luck.
NOW WE ARE TALKING, CIGAR SHAPED, SOLAR POWERED ZEPPELINS!
SALVATION!
what a beautiful view
Wow, this is cool! I wonder if I'll ever see this delivering something I ordered on Amazon xD It's a lot more efficient than the drones their using, maybe not as fast but I'd still prefer this over the drones.
I’ve been planning to do many stuff in life and one is building another Hindenburg! Made with helium, interesting power... that might work in new generation airships
This looks so cool! You mentioned private aircraft in the description as well? I'd be down for that lol. Airship pirates irl! While I understand that you wouldn't have any specifics right now, but what would the rough passenger capacity and rough price estimated to be at for a private aircraft? Im just curious is all :3
We're honestly surprised you're the only one who ever came up with anything like this. I have some questions that I'd be glad if you could answer: How much weight can this carry, exactly? What is the maximum power output of the solar panels? At what range is it capable of operating, in terms of radio control? Would one be able to install EO/IR imaging systems or cameras? Thanks for your time.
This particular drone has a useful payload of about 2 kg. Not much, to be sure. It could be scaled, and the capacity would increase exponentially. I'm currently using standard PWM recievers to control it, with a range of about one mile. However, the ultimate goal is a fully autonomous vehicle with essentially unlimited range. The big thing currently stopping me from doing that is regulatory, not technological. The FAA does not currently allow the operation of drones beyond line of sight. They keep saying they will change this, but no word yet. Until then, this project is effectively on hold. Power output from the solar array used here is about 30 watts, although since then I have started using much more powerful solar cells. Last time I did speed tests, it was moving at about 44 kph. Cameras and imaging systems would be a good fit for this.
This is such an awesome thing just to even watch fly- or maybe float-, never mind the high endurance and quiet operation! It is really disappointing that you can't legally continue flying this aircraft due to the FAA nonsense... How well has it (or your latest version) handled the wind?
Wow, absolutely amazing. I've been looking for something of this design to experiment with. I love these drones/airships and relentlessly trying to find a more common practical application for them. I think they're incredibly handy, but for what? Perhaps as a mail carrier and small package delivery, or something even more creative. Another thing I think would be incredibly interesting is autonomous flight using GPS. How many cubic feet or meters of helium does it take to fill the blimp? Is it 99.998% helium or are you using a nitro or air mixture? How long does the helium hold without the airship going soft?
Merry christmas bacca :D
Awesome!!! Fantastic idea! I thought the same about blimps: it expends no energy to float and it has a lot of area to fit solar panels, so why not solar powered autonomous blimps?
Im starting to look at the idea of a blimp with a camera. Solar panels were part of the plan since I wanted to land it for a few hours and let it charge to increase range. Someone has built it right here, proof it can be done and can work. So far im right at the start but im thinking wax paper over thin overlapping plastic and melting it together with an iron to keep it airtight. Once I get a blimp fully sealed, im not sure where ill go from there.
Hi, this sounds like a great project. We want to build something alike but a lot smaller. How do you fill in the helium and handle the different air pressure depending on how high you get? Which gas-tight material did you use?
That would be a good drone for signs and cameras at sporting events
Peak is a top of a mountain. Peek is a quick glimpse.
nice work!!! what material have you use for skins? thanks...
MILLENIALS DISCOVERED ZEPPELINS
Ok boomer 👌😝👌
How expensive would/(maybe) will that ship be? Btw, heard of the dragon dream? Getting this to be similar would seem like a good idea :D
This just showed up for me must watch
Very cool
Their was a guy on here that years ago has a clear blimp with solar panels on the bottom inside and basically drone controls on the outside.
Cool dude....👍👍
Crowdsource funding time! Are you on indiegogo or one of the others? So many applications!
Really nice idea Man! Great work and I hope this product becomes successful. Is there a way to purchase there? If not how much do you think they will cost if they come out later, and when?
So this is really early in the process. But at a guess, cost is likely in the low thousands. It could be available within just a few months with investment. If not I will continue developing at my own pace and with my own resources.
Good morning, thank you for all you do being wonderful you are greatness,and thank you for being beautiful. You have a great day. Goodnight.
wow great invention
Great job man! I love the concept and design. Among many things, I see a lot of search and rescue applications for this. Would it work the same in cold, high altitude conditions (ie mountains)?
Well, this was filmed at about 5000 feet. I would predict it could go to about 10000 without much trouble. Much higher would require a larger envelope, but its certainly possible. I actually made one that could fly at 30,000 feet a few years ago, then I found out it would be illegal to test it. :) Airships actually like the cold. Colder air is denser, and so you gain more lift by displacing it. The big problem would be wind. This model could fight light-medium winds with enough cells. But high winds would be a problem. So, a storm would ground it. But if someone just got lost or something, yeah this would be ideal.
BaccaYarro Why would 30, 000 ft be illegal???
In the US there are some rather draconic rules governing drones. Currently it is not legal to operate a drone outside of line-of-sight. They say they will be changing these rules this year.
you and I are on the same page Bacco!
Very nice
Awesome baccayarro. You are mastered in both real amd virtual airships! I want to ask something about your solar powered airship , can it be mounted with more powerful engine and harder skin inorder to fly faster?Also , is the floating force provided by helium??
Yes, although a rigid structure won't be necessary until it goes much faster. I doubt it will be needed for the foreseeable future. If speed is what you want, then the best way to achieve it in a solar powered vehicle is to use the jet stream, IMO. For example, if you built a much larger version of this that could fly at 30,000 feet, you could fly from New York to Tokyo in about 2.5 days. By using the jet stream, you would have an average ground speed of ~130 MPH, even with an airspeed as low as 30 MPH. You could sustain that speed indefinitely, because there are no clouds or weather to speak of at 30,000 feet. And, of course, all this with essentially no fuel cost. That's the ultimate potential of this type of aircraft, to revolutionize global cargo. But that would cost hundreds of millions to develop, so we start with drones. To your other questions, yeah this flew with helium in this video. I use hydrogen for testing the envelope, because it is much easier to detect leaks with. I will be trying different prop and engine combinations, at the moment I believe I would gain more thrust with a larger propeller rather than a larger engine. The engines I use are surprisingly powerful and efficient despite their incredibly light weight.
hey bacca yarro see you an anime fan lol, i wanted to ask what kind of mechanism you used to to heat the gas inside the envelope or if u even use heat ?
Nice !
I want to make one of those ! How about using those high altitude weather balloons for the inner chambers ?
Cool!
I dream with drone blimps since I was a child.
Neo, well that depends highly on how you look at it. I have spent a larger amount of money than I care to think about developing this and all the airships that came before it. At least 5 digits. But the actual parts in this unit by itself is much less. I hesitate to provide more deffinitive numbers in case this does become a commercial product.
Lite metal technologies used with graphite power cell technology to form hard outer shell with a Crystal lattice on the inside to generate power to run its systems. Take your pick of gases to use for lift.
So cool
How's the photography or filming? Seems like it would offer a more stable and lower alt. Perspective with more ease than traditional drones.
I want to get into this. I think a hydrogen blimp with a fuel cell power source for propulsion and drone recharging would be ideal. I guess that the trick is the hydrogen/ oxygen reaction. Lots of zeppelins were lost due to this. Helium doesn’t seem realistic till it can be manufactured thru hydrogen fusion. All interesting and great stuff. With solar cells on the outside of the blimp I’m guessing that you would never have to land the blimp as It can collect moisture from the air to replenish the water ballast. Additional H2 can be made from the water to account for hydrogen lost thru seepage .I’m interested in collaborating with people on their and my ideas. I’ve already starting investing to get into the inflatables industry.
That choice of music though...
i wanna build a semi-rigid solar airship, what are your suggestion concerning the materials and electronics to be used in making one
great, very great. however if you can silence the background music that i can hear what you say clearly.
I have several questions what about the propeller when you put them in a "cage" I don't know how I should call it when the proppeler is in a case when the proppeler is protected and would it increase the trust?
Best for low altitude? So how many inches will it float of the ground? And if it really does fly am I able to fly with it? I´m only around 120 kilograms!
Thats so awsome! How much did it cost to built?
could be used to explore the upper atmosphere of Venus!
thats just what i was thinking!
Great job. Do you have estimates on how long it can stay aloft? Is leakage and gradual moisture inside an issue like typical airships? Thanks.
+Hans Zarkov It depends on envelope age and flight profile. A typical ship could likely remain airborne for a week or so. There are other systems on the way to increase that, but not in this model.
BaccaYarro Thanks! Good luck
✨ have you completed your project as well did you also started doing for flight also for two people or one person more or less like an ultra-light but not exactly and have you accomplished any other goals would this blimp cuz I'm very interested?! 🦅
R u looking forward to the new drone focused chip from Qualcom that utilizes existing data transmission infrastructure like LTE towers?
I wish this was my school project
The only problem with this is of course maneuverability. After which windspeeds is your blimp no longer controllable?
can you steer this design and how do you plan to counter gust in some areas of operation?
True, these drones would last long in the air. Only bad maybe is the wind.
Yes, absolutely. I keep trying to make them with greater thrust and better able to handle the winds. But it is a big challenge.
I want to deploy an energy producing airship as well
Hey Brennan, I can't actually respond to your comment. When you can, please change your KZhead / Google+ settings to allow replies. This is Helium, but I have actually dabbled in Hydrogen and I would say it isn't as bad as the hype may lead you to believe. But, yes, for PR reasons if for no other reason, any commercial airship will likely be filled with Helium.
BaccaYarro it could also be used for war spying they could paint it and make it look like a cloud in the sky
I agree if no people on it hydrogen would be much lighter and cheaper to obtain. Also its not as bad as long as you keep everything low voltage so no sparks.
But Helium is not accessible. Every operator will need to get a constant supply of Helium. Hard.
Jaybird they did that in a book called Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz
Surprised Hydrogen Helium mixes aren't used that are safe and more effective other than maybe leaking through the membrane.
how much is the max weight can it pick up I'm jw also do u plan to sell some soon I like the range part
To lift 100 kg payload you'll need approx. 100 cubic meters of helium only for that payload that's a cube with side 4,65 m or a sphere with diameter 5,7 m. One could also use heated air, or even steam (a water molecule is lighter than a molecule of oxygen or nitrogen) provided the thermal isolation of the airship is thick enough to keep thermal leakage low.
thanks
How do you control your altitude and what is your payload for that size airship?
@ Bacca Please look into NASA using a fernel lens over the solar array to increase production of energy. NASA got eight times the power out of a basic solar panel by adding a fresnel lens above it in a curved formation. Kind of like a curved roof.this afforded getting light from every direction no matter what the position of the craft was. Hope this helps you.
Yeah, that is interesting. The blimp pictured here is pretty old, since then I experimented with making a transparent envelope that acted as a lens similar to what you are talking about. That was an interesting experiment, but had some problems. The biggest is the heat involved. Heat is a big problem for any airship. Any differential between the temperature of the gas inside the envelope and the gas outside the envelope will cause massive changes in lift, which are difficult to compensate for. Then it gets even worse when the heat changes rapidly (for example if the sun goes behind a cloud). A solar blimp will naturally have worse heat problems than a regular blimp, and one that uses a lens with concentrated solar energy is even worse. Those solar cells get really hot. In the transparent blimp they were melting the structures they were attached to, so you can imagine what it was doing to the lift!
+BaccaYarro You should make a vid on how to make one of these very interesting
Can I please have the schematics? I don't want to sell it or anything, I am just interested in making a hydrogen zepplin and since this one looks very thought out, I was wondering if you could help me. If not, that's okay. THank you for any help you can give! I am really impressed with this! :)
What do you think the maximum wind speed a UAV blimp like this could operate in and still be controllable and capable of flying in a grid flight pattern over an open field? Cool project!
christophertelford Roughly 25 MPH. Which means it can operate in roughly 98% of wind conditions observed at weather stations in the USA.
BaccaYarro WOW! What's the aircraft's top speed?
Looks great, one question, what does the patent prevent someone from doing/is there an online patent I can view as I had a similar idea a month or 2 ago but only just found this video?
D-Licious Unfortunately that is a very complicated legal question that I can't really answer
BaccaYarro Oh? Patents must be confusing :/ Am I right in saying that someone could build a solar powered blimp, but if it was built the same way (which mine wouldn't be) they couldn't monotize it?
+D-Licious Correct. You can look up any patent documentation online freely and mimic it if you wish, just can't profit from it.
So you can't use it where the sun don't shine? Probably best.
hello.. what did u use for changing the direction for the blimp
I'm trying to construct a personal derigable. So many factors. Helium for starters. The air equivalent of a small catamaran. Is this possible?
AMORPHOUS PHOTOVOLTAIC ENVELOPE SURFACE COATINGS (pv paint) ARE ALMOST HERE!
What is weight capacity for this remote-controlled weather balloon?
You'd have to scale it up some but a rigid constructed airship would be less susceptable to a pointy twig.
7 years ago neet. Think if what the secret part of the military has? Or the Navy?
hi, good job how can i design a air ship?
cool
How may solar panals wohld it take to power and airship roughly the size of the Hindenburg?
I would be worried about a bird landing on it and have the risk of it getting poped or a tear in it. Might want to try and put lines of fishing line on the outside of it. Birds wont land on something that has tight rows of fishing line on it (this is a trick we do for docks or boats parked on lakes).
I am building something similar, how did this end up? I would love to share ideas!
dear BaccaYarro please respond me! what material have you use for the skins?(both inner and outer) thank you
+Mohammad Manouchehri I've used so many different materials it's crazy. Because, of course, the material is a very important part of the overall aircraft. This one was made with an aluminum laminated nylon inner envelope, and ripstop nyson for the outer envelope.
thanks!
May I ask how you control the drone and how did you set up the remote (if it is a remote)
It's a standard Pulse Width Modulation control system, I use an 8 channel receiver and transmitter. I would like to eventually control it using an automated system so it could be programmed to follow waypoints. It should be easy enough to do, like I say it's all using standard components and signaling.