Toronto-based company, Solar Ship, has built and flown the first solar-powered aircraft that has the potential to hold heavy cargo for a distance of 1,000 km per day.
“Caracal,” named after the African cat, runs on solar power generated from the photovoltaic (PV) panels on its wings.
The company said the aircraft is perfectly suited for disaster relief efforts, field research or any situation in which specialty, or heavy cargo, needs transport to remote locations with little or no infrastructure.
Solar Ship’s unique aircraft is the brain child of Solar Ship founder and CEO, Jay Godsall, and Professor Emeritus James DeLaurier (UTIAS). Professor DeLaurier, the company’s chief aerospace engineer, made aviation history in 2006 with the design and construction of the “The Flapper,” the first motorized, human-piloted ornithopter to achieve sustained flight. In 2010, he was the faculty advisor to U of T Engineering’s record-breaking ornithopter.
