Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219

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Aerospace Science and Technology

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Conceptual design of a hybrid solar MALE UAV

P. Panagiotou, I. Tsavlidis, K. Yakinthos ∗
Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study presents the conceptual design of a hybrid solar Medium-Altitude-Long-Endurance Unmanned-
Received 2 July 2015 Aerial-Vehicle (MALE UAV) designed to perform surveillance-related missions, such as border patrolling,
Received in revised form 18 March 2016 wildfires monitoring, atmospheric data recording, search and rescue missions and telecommunications.
Accepted 26 March 2016
For this purpose, a conceptual design methodology was also developed, focusing on the energy
Available online 1 April 2016
management of the aerial platform. Specifically, the presizing calculations are presented, including
Keywords: the methods for estimating weight, aerodynamic and performance parameters. In order to perform a
Aerodynamic design complete aerodynamic study and accurately estimate the aerodynamic coefficients, theoretical analytical
UAV methods were employed, along with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis. A refined weight
CFD sizing methodology is presented in detail, including a solar power estimation technique, which allows
Solar energy for a balanced selection between fuel amount, panel area and battery size. The conceptualization of the
power system, the selection of appropriate solar panels and the sizing of the batteries are also discussed.
Finally, the results of the conceptual design procedure are presented and appropriate conclusions are
drawn.
© 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), ranging from micro-
scaled vehicles to large-scale aerial platforms, comprise intelligent
autonomous systems capable of carrying-out multiple tasks and
missions, such as forest monitoring and fires detection, board pa-
trolling, weather monitoring for research purposes and search and
rescue missions [1]. The main advantages of UAVs arise from the
lack of crew, and are the reduced operational cost, the ability to
operate under hazardous conditions and their improved endurance.
Considering the latter, the flight endurance is essentially limited
from the available fuel onboard, which up to this day is the basic
source of energy of both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. It
therefore follows that the utilization of alternative energy sources,
and specifically renewable energy sources, could aid a long way in
increasing the flight time.
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources
is an ambition not just at the field of flight though. In the last
decades, a considerable effort concentration towards that direc-
tion has led to an evolution of the renewable energy resources
technologies [2]. Therefore, specifically at the field of aeronautics,
utilizing alternative energy sources, and mainly solar energy, for
flight applications is becoming more feasible and realistic in the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kyak@auth.gr (K. Yakinthos).
21st century. Various studies present the aerodynamic design pro-
cedure of solar aircraft. For example, a conceptual design method
for solar powered aircraft is presented in Hajianmaleki [3]. Young-
blood and Talay [4] and Reinhardt et al. [5] carried-out design
studies of unmanned solar-powered platforms. Furthermore, a sig-
nificant progress on the field of unmanned solar aircraft has been
carried-out by the research group working on the HELIPLAT project
[6–8], including aerodynamic, structural, construction and testing
considerations.
The operation of a so-called “solar aircraft” is based on a rather
simple procedure. Solar panels installed on the external surfaces of
the aerial vehicle collect the power from the sun during daylight
and transfer it to the aircraft’s batteries, which in turn power the
propulsion systems and the electro-optical equipment of the air-
craft. The panels and the batteries have to be appropriately sized,
in order to ensure that there is enough energy surplus available to
power the vehicle during the night i.e. when the sunlight is absent.
Therefore, it follows that the use of solar energy can help to
dramatically increase flight endurance, and even unlock the poten-
tiality of “eternal flight” [9], thus adding to the aforementioned
advantages of UAVs. As mentioned in Jashnani et al. [10], addi-
tional benefits of solar aircraft are the reduced pollutant emis-
sions, the reduced operational and maintenance cost and the abil-
ity for the UAV to operate at higher flight altitudes. On the other
hand though, solar aerial vehicles also have several disadvantages.
The collected power depends highly on weather conditions (e.g.
cloud density) and operational latitude, whereas the solar radiation

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2016.03.023
1270-9638/© 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
208 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Nomenclature
English symbols
E energy
H solar hour angle
I power per unit area
P power
V flight speed
varies largely between different times of the year, thus affecting
the performance of the aircraft. Furthermore, it should be men-
tioned that there are few aircraft systems manufacturers able to
deliver products capable of working under severe environmental
conditions, as the ones found above 15 km, due to the fact that
only few aerial vehicles have been designed to operate in such al-
titudes [11].
In the present study, the conceptualization of an aircraft that
will utilize both solar and conventional energy sources is at-
tempted. Thus, the benefits of solar-powered flight are exploited,
while the conventional power source provides the system with in-
creased reliability and versatility, being for example less dependent
on weather conditions. At first, three different concepts for the
hybrid propulsion system are proposed, and the selection proce-
dure of the solar panels and batteries is discussed. A custom sizing
methodology is presented in detail, including a solar power esti-
mation method that allows for the estimation of the collected solar
power in respect to the time of the year. A detailed aerodynamic
study is also made, including CFD computations. Finally, an initial
concept is developed, answering the basic design aspects, and its
characteristics are presented and discussed.
2. Design methodology
When it comes to sizing a traditional aircraft, there is a detailed
documentation considering all aspects of the design procedure,
including presizing methods, stability estimation methods and sys-
tems design [12–16], following almost a century of experience and
dozens of concepts in several aircraft categories. Especially in the
case of unmanned aerial vehicles, the design process is simplified
due to the lack of on-board human passengers [17,18].
However, the design procedure of a solar aerial vehicle varies
considerably from that of a conventional design. Taking into ac-
count that solar flight is a relatively new field in aeronautics, and
that there are only a few existing concepts and prototypes, limited
to experimental applications and research purposes, it follows that
dedicated presizing methods for solar aircraft are limited as well.
Due to the aforementioned advantages of solar aircraft though, the
field of solar flight is a much promising technological field, and nu-
merous researchers have attempted to develop sizing methods and
describe the design process of a solar aerial vehicle [3–6,9–11,19,
20]. The most notable variations between the design of a solar and
a conventional aircraft are listed below:
• When sizing a conventional aircraft, the main wing area (S) is
defined by the performance parameters. The wing area must
be large enough to ensure that the aerial vehicle can achieve
certain performance requirements, such as minimum (stall)
speed and landing distance. In the case of a solar aircraft
though, the main wing hosts the majority of the solar panels.
Therefore, the sizing of the main wing is defined by the re-
quired panel area, and consequently the energy requirements
of the flight.
• When it comes to weight sizing, there are several considera-
tions that have to be taken into account in the special case of a
W weight
Greek symbols
α angle of attack
η efficiency ratio
ρ air density
solar aircraft, which mainly refer to the absence of stored fuel
and to some unique structural features, such as solar panels
and batteries. Therefore, different weight estimation methods
have to be used.
• The performance characteristics of a solar aircraft vary from
that of a conventional UAV as well, with the operational flight
speed being a typical example. Specifically, since the wing area
of a solar aerial vehicle is considerably larger, the cruising, loi-
ter and stall speeds are lower.
As a first step, and in order to overcome the disadvantages of
solar aircraft as presented above, e.g. dependence on weather con-
ditions, day of year and latitude and lack of know-how, it was
decided to design a hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle, which will
utilize both conventional and renewable energy sources. Thus, the
conceptual design process that will be explained below is based on
the conventional presizing methods as described in [12,13,16], but
at the same time it incorporates the key elements of solar aircraft
design.
2.1. Solar cells and energy storage systems
In this section, the basic aspects of the solar cells and batteries
selection procedure are presented and an initial selection is made.
It should be noted though, that since this work focuses on the
conceptual design stage, the analysis is kept at low detail.
Solar cell selection is a crucial aspect of solar aircraft design.
Considering the efficiency, solar cells technologies are experienc-
ing a continuous growth with a gradual improvement [21]. How-
ever, several other parameters have to be taken into account, such
as the relation between efficiency and weight, i.e. good collective
efficiency at the lower possible weight, and the cells’ structural
strength, in order to sustain the loads that are applied i) during
their installation on the wing, due to the curvature of the upper
side, and ii) during flight, due to the aerodynamic loads.
For the conceptualization of the hybrid UAV, monocrystalline
silicon (monoSi) cells were selected, such as the ones that have
been used in previous applications [22]. The monoSi cells that are
currently available in the market reach efficiencies up to 22.5%,
at 20 ◦ C [23], a ratio that rises as the temperature decreases [11].
The solar cells are heated during their operation, but at the same
time the low ambient temperature (−30 ◦ C) at the operating flight
altitude (7 km, as stated in the mission requirements paragraph
of Section 2.3) aids in their cooling. A detailed cooling study is
required in order to calculate the temperature at the surface of
the cells, and consequently the efficiency ratio. However, as such
a study is not to be made at this early design phase, the value of
22.5% was employed for the calculations. Furthermore, the monoSi
cells are relatively light and have good structural characteristics,
whereas the fact that they are being used in similar applications
adds in their reliability. Finally, the weight estimation of the solar
cells was based on the methodology used in [10], and was carried-
out by using the density of silicon (ρsilicon = 2329 kg/m3 ), adding
a percentage for coating and accessories. The solar cell thickness,
or t cell was estimated at 135 μm based on similar applications [22].
 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Fig. 1. Examples of the hybrid propulsion system configuration. Independent operation (a), Serial (b), and Series/Parallel (c).
Thus, by combining the above, the weight of the solar cells, or W sc ,
[kg] is equal to
W sc = 0.377 · S c (1)
where S c [m2 ] is the area covered by solar cells.
Considering the selection of the batteries, the most important
parameter is their energy density. A good example of state-of-the-
art rechargeable batteries, are the ones that have been installed
on Zephyr, which have a density of 350 Wh/kg [3]. A proper siz-
ing of the power system ensures that the energy surplus which is
collected during daylight, and especially during midday when radi-
ation level is higher, is stored at the batteries of the aerial vehicle.
The aerial system concept has been designed to operate all year
long, and as the maximum energy surplus is generated during the
summer (summer solstice – 20th June), the batteries sizing was
conducted based on that power load, in order to ensure that all of
the available energy is stored. Concluding, the battery weight, or
W batteries [kg], is given by
W batteries = 10.286 · ( E solar, stored )max,per day (2)
where E solar, stored [J] is the maximum amount of solar energy
stored in the batteries during a day of operation.
2.2. Hybrid propulsion system
In order for the UAV to utilize both fuel and solar energy, a
hybrid propulsion system was conceptualized as well, that com-
bines an electric motor and an internal combustion engine (ICE).
The three proposed configuration suggestions are described below
and presented in Fig. 1:
a) Two electric motors and one internal combustion engine will
operate independently. The ICE will be located on the fuse-
lage and power a center propeller, whereas the electric motors
along with their respective propellers will be mounted on the
wing nacelles.
b) The electric motor is connected directly to the propeller, while
the ICE is used for the production of electric current i.e. charg-
ing the batteries through an electric generator (Serial Hybrid
System).
c) An ICE and an electric motor are combined to supply a single
propeller with the required power, with a use of a power-split
device (Series/Parallel Hybrid System).
An estimation considering the efficiency ratio of each compo-
nent of the propulsion system was made as well. The efficiency of
the solar panels was set at 22.5%, as mentioned in section 2.1, and
typical values where selected for the rest of the parts [9]. Table 1
presents the efficiency ratios of each component of the power sys-
tem. Therefore, using Table 1, the total efficiency ratio of each of
the proposed propulsion system concepts can be estimated.
209
Table 1
Efficiency ratios for the various parts of the propulsion system.
Solar components Propulsion components
Component Efficiency % Component Efficiency %
Solar cells 22.5% Engine block (+ generator) 17.0%
MPPT 97.0% Electric motor 85.0%
Batteries charge 95.0% Gearbox 97.0%
Batteries discharge 95.0% Motor controller 95.0%
Power control unit 95.0% Propeller 85.0%
An important parameter in selecting one of the proposed con-
figurations is the stability of the aerial vehicle, as each of the above
configurations has a different combination of components, and
consequently a different effect in the center of gravity. This obser-
vation should be evaluated in the preliminary design phase, where
the detailed calculations considering the stability and trimming of
the aerial vehicle are to be carried out. Furthermore, additional pa-
rameters in selecting one of the above configurations are the cost
and complexibility of each of the three systems. To define these
parameters, a more detailed analysis has to be carried-out, also
including electronics and structural studies, which is beyond the
scope of this study as well. Hence, as no conclusion considering
the selection of the three configurations could be made, a worst
case scenario was employed, which corresponds to a total effi-
ciency ratio of 12.5%.
2.3. Solar irradiation estimation methodology
For the purposes of this study, a detailed research was carried-
out regarding the available solar irradiation with respect to the
flight level, latitude, day of year and time of day. In order to es-
timate the collected solar power, the model of Bailey and Bower
[24] was employed. It should be noted that altitude is an impor-
tant factor that affects the amount of available solar irradiation at
a defined position in the atmosphere, primarily due to the pres-
ence of clouds, which are mostly located at the lower layers of the
troposphere. In order to employ this specific solar power estima-
tion technique though, it has to be assumed that solar irradiation
is not blocked by cloud presence, therefore the model of Bailey
and Bower can be applied at flight altitudes higher than 2.5 km, or
about 8000 ft.
The power produced by a photovoltaic system of arbitrary ori-
entation is calculated as:
P produced = I b ηsc S c cos(i ) (3)
2
where I b [W/m ] is the power of solar irradiation per unit area,
ηsc is the efficiency of the photovoltaic system, S c [m2 ] is the sur-
face covered by photovoltaic cells, and i is the angle of incidence
of the solar rays over the surface of the cells i.e. the angle between
the solar rays and the normal to the panel surface. Solar incidence
angle is a function of the solar panel inclination angle B (Beta), the
210 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219

Fig. 2. Key parameters of the solar power estimation methodology (Bailey and Bower
[24]).

wall azimuth angle α w and the solar azimuth angle αs (Fig. 2). In
the case where the solar cells are installed on the wing of an aerial
vehicle, it can be assumed that the surface of the solar cells is hor-
izontal, because the largest part of the aerial vehicle’s mission will
involve cruise and loiter segments, which take place at steady level
flight conditions. In other words, it can be assumed that B = 0◦ ,
which leads to cos(i ) = sin(Alpha) [24], and consequently eq. (2)
can be rewritten as:

P produced = I b ηsc S c sin( A ) (4)

where A (Alpha) is the solar altitude angle (Fig. 2), and

sin( A ) = cos( D ) cos( H ) cos( L ) + sin( L ) sin( D ) (5)

Note that D [deg] is the declination angle and is calculated using

eq. (6):
  ◦
d
D = 23.5 sin 360 (6)
365
where d is the difference in days from the vernal equinox (March
20th), L [deg] is the latitude and H [deg] is the solar hour angle.
Note that H = (t /24) · 360 where t is the time difference between
the time of interest and 12 p.m. (e.g. if time of interest is 10 p.m. Fig. 3. Total, available on horizontal plane and collected solar power per unit area
then t = 2). at vernal equinox (a), at summer solstice (b) and at winter solstice (c), at 42◦ North
latitude. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure, the reader is
In order to estimate the available solar power per unit area, de-
referred to the web version of this article.)
termining the atmospheric transmittance is necessary. Atmospheric
transmittance represents the amount of the radiation that is fil- whereas, given the atmospheric pressure p ( z), the value of m( z, A )
tered by the atmosphere, and is the radiation that reaches to the can be calculated at any altitude using:
point of interest I b , divided by the radiation outside the atmo-  
sphere. That is:
p ( z)
m( z, A ) = m(0, A ) (10)
p (0)
Ib
T atm = ⇐⇒ I b = T atm I o (7) By employing eqs. (5) to (10), eq. (4) can now be solved to
Io
yield the solar power per unit area, for a specific day of the year.
where I o = 1353 [W/m2 ] is the mean solar radiation outside the Thus, by integrating it through the hours of the day, the daily solar
atmosphere. power per unit area can be calculated.
For the atmospheric transmittance, the following equation also This integration takes place from sunrise to sunset. The respec-
applies: tive values can be calculated by employing eq. (11):
 
  | H sr | = | H ss | = cos−1 − tan( L ) tan( D ) (11)
T atm = 0.5 e −0.65m(z, A ) + e −0.095m(z, A ) (8)
where the subscripts sr and ss correspond to sunrise and sunset
The value m( z, A ) refers to the air mass at a specific altitude z respectively.
and is the air mass that has to be “penetrated” in order for the Consequently, charts like Fig. 3 can be drawn, which show the
solar radiation to reach a specific point. At sea level, this value is per-unit-area-available and collected solar power at a given flight
calculated by eq. (9): altitude. Blue line depicts the available solar power at the time and
 point of interest I b (eq. (7)), while the green line is the solar power
 2
m ( z = 0, A ) = 1229 + 614 sin( A ) − 614 sin( A ) (9) that would have been gathered at the horizontal plane (eq. (4)), in
 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Fig. 4. Conceptual design flow chart of the hybrid solar UAV.
the case of an ideal solar system i.e. 100% efficiency. Finally, the
red line corresponds to the power that is actually collected by the
system, by also taking the efficiency ratio into account (eq. (4)). In
the current figure, an efficiency ratio of 12.5% was employed, as
mentioned in section 2.2.
Considering the conceptual design of the hybrid solar UAV, the
solar power calculations were conducted for the 20th of March, i.e.
the vernal equinox, when the available solar power is at its mean
annual level. It should be noted though, that based on the calcu-
lations, the solar power varies considerably throughout the year
(Fig. 3). Hence, it follows that either the endurance of the hybrid
solar UAV will vary throughout the year, reaching larger values in
summer and smaller values during winter, or the fuel quantity has
to be adjusted at each flight period in order to maintain a constant
flight endurance. These considerations can be quantified during the
“refined weight sizing” and “final weight estimation” stages of the
conceptual design procedure that is analyzed in the following sec-
tion.
2.4. Conceptual design
In the field of aeronautical engineering, the aircraft design is di-
vided into three stages i.e. the conceptual, preliminary and detail
stages [12]. The first step is to determine the mission require-
ments that the aerial vehicle should fulfill. Then, based on those
requirements, the configuration layout of the aircraft is determined
and the basic weight, performance, geometric and aerodynamic
parameters are either estimated or defined by the designer. This
is essentially the conceptual design stage. During the preliminary
and detail design phases the aircraft is analyzed in detail including
aerodynamics, structures, control and optics, the technical draw-
ings are drawn and the production line is designed. These two
latter phases of the design are not a part of this study though.
The primary objective of this study was to develop hybrid-solar-
aircraft presizing tools, focusing on the energy sizing aspects, and
to examine the feasibility of a hybrid solar Medium-Altitude-Long-
Endurance unmanned aerial platform, with the analysis being kept
211
at a conceptual level. An innovative methodology was developed,
which combines the methods used in conventional aircraft sizing
with the key aspects of solar aircraft design. A custom presizing
tool that has been developed in the Laboratory of Fluid Mechan-
ics and Turbomachinery, in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, for
previous design studies [18], was properly modified in order to fa-
cilitate the presizing calculations of the hybrid solar aerial vehicle.
The corresponding conceptual design methodology (Fig. 4) is pre-
sented below.
2.4.1. Mission requirements
Coastal areas and borders monitoring for safety purposes, and
wildlife surveillance for environmental purposes were defined as
the main missions that the aerial platform should be able to
carry-out. The mission requirements refer to a payload weight of
50 kg, flight endurance of 48 hours and flight altitude at 23,000 ft
(7,000 m). Specifically, 50 kg is a typical weight of electro-optical
payload for a MALE UAV, whereas the 48 hours is a compromise
between the typical endurance values of conventional and solar
aircraft. What is more, the 7,000 m were set as the operating flight
altitude, where the scarce cloud presence allows for higher val-
ues of solar power to be collected and the lower density of the
air yields lower drag values. Furthermore, the latitude was set at
42◦ N, which corresponds to a typical southern European country,
such as Greece.
A comment about the jet-streams must be made at this point,
as they can affect the sizing of an aerial vehicle operating at such
high altitudes [6]. Their characteristics depend on both latitude
and altitude, and detailed measurements have to be taken at a
specific geographical location, in order to accurately estimate their
magnitude. Indicatively, studies from [6] and [25] show that a peak
value in jet-stream velocity appears at 10,000 m, however the ve-
locities at higher and lower altitudes vary between the two papers.
Regarding the current work, no such measurements were carried-
out at this early point of the design, and no further conclusions
can be extracted. Hence, this issue remains to be addressed dur-
ing the preliminary design phase, where more detailed studies are
212 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Fig. 5. Empty weight fraction trends as a function of takeoff weight (Sóbester et al.
[26]).
made considering the propulsion system and the operation of the
aerial vehicle.
2.4.2. First weight estimation
The first step is an initial estimation of UAV’s weight. Gross
takeoff weight (GTOW or W 0 ) is generally defined as the aircraft’s
maximum weight at the beginning of its mission i.e. its weight be-
fore take-off. In the case of an unmanned platform, W 0 can be
calculated by summing up the payload, the fuel and the empty
(structural) weight. That is:
W0 = W p + We + W f
Payload weight refers to weight of all the equipment that the
aerial vehicle must have on-board in order to carry-out its mission
(e.g. computers, cameras etc.) and is essentially defined by the re-
quirements. Empty weight is the net weight of the aircraft, e.g.
structural and engine weight. During the first design steps it is es-
timated using statistical data (Fig. 5) from existing aircraft [13,26].
In order to calculate the fuel weight, the mission is divided into
segments (Fig. 6) and the amount of required fuel is calculated
separately. For some segments, such as the warmup & take-off seg-
ment, statistical data are used, whereas for the remaining ones,
analytical methods such as the ones described in Anderson [12]
and Raymer [13] are employed. Eq. (13) is a typical equation in
aeronautics that yields the required amount of fuel during a cruise
mission segment:
W i  
V CL dW
R=
c CD W the aspect ratio, typical values in solar aircraft range from 12 to
W i +1
where V is the freestream velocity [m/s], c the specific fuel con-
sumption [lbs/lbs/h], and (C L /C D ) the Lift-to-Drag ratio. The pay-
load, empty, and fuel weight values are then added, yielding a first
Fig. 6. Mission profile of the hybrid solar UAV concept.
Fig. 7. Aerodynamic efficiency vs. angle of attack for six different airfoils, for a
Reynolds number equal to 1 · 106 [27]. The FX63-137 was eventually selected, which
corresponds to the gray dashed curve.
estimate for the W 0 . It should be noted that, up to this point, the
solar aspects of the design are ignored.
2.4.3. Aerodynamic and performance parameters
Subsequently, the basic aerodynamic parameters of the aerial
vehicle are specified i.e. the airfoil characteristics and the geomet-
ric parameters of the wing. For the selection of these parameters,
the trends and constraints that apply to the design of solar aircraft
were also taken into account.
Considering the wing design, it was decided for the needs of
the conceptual design stage to choose an already existing airfoil
profile that will be common for the entire main wing, for sim-
(12)
plicity purposes. Fig. 7 indicatively presents the Lift-to-Drag ratios
from −6 to 12 deg of angle of attack, for various airfoils which
were examined [27], at a Reynolds number of 1 · 106 , which is
a rough estimation of Reynolds number that corresponds to the
cruise/loiter flight conditions. The Wortmann FX 63-137 [28] air-
foil was eventually selected, as it combines a low upper surface
(suction side) curvature with good aerodynamic efficiency, i.e. large
Lift-to-Drag ratios, for a wide range of angles of attack. It should
be noted that the former was an important parameter in the airfoil
selection process, as it affects the installation of the solar cells.
In order to select the taper and aspect ratios, a trade-off was
made between optimum aerodynamic performance and maximum
solar panel installation area. Specifically, the taper ratio was at first
set at 0.4, in order to minimize the induced drag component and
increase aerodynamic efficiency [29]. However, as the chord at the
tip had to increase in order to provide enough space for the instal-
lation of the solar panels, a value of 0.5 was eventually selected,
(13) thus satisfying both of the aforementioned objectives. Considering
31 [3,7,24] with the higher ones yielding better aerodynamic ef-
ficiency and the smaller ones being less demanding in structural
strength. Hence, for the current concept, a value of 19 was se-
lected, to satisfy both sides.
 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219 213

Fig. 8. Fuselage design of the hybrid solar UAV. The airfoil rails are presented in
blue. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader
is referred to the web version of this article.)

The next step is the calculation of the two most important per-
formance parameters, namely the wing reference area (S) and the
engine horsepower (hp). Horsepower is estimated using the power
loading ratio (hp/W ), by taking the appropriate considerations that
Fig. 9. Configuration layout of the hybrid solar concept. Red, cyan, yellow and black
arise from flight requirements into account. Concerning the wing represent possible locations (hardpoints) for the engines/motors, payload, batteries
reference area, for a conventional, fuel-powered aerial vehicle, it and fuel tanks to be installed respectively. (For interpretation of the references to
is estimated by calculating the required wing loading ratio (W / S) color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
for several critical flight conditions, such as stalling, climb and loi-
ter, and the lowest W / S value is eventually selected, so that the
main wing has adequate surface area [13]. In the case of the hy-
brid configuration though, the required solar panel area has to be
taken into account as well, and consequently the W / S value was
set between the typical values for conventional and solar aircraft
[6,11,13,18,30,31].

2.4.4. Configuration layout

Having defined the basic performance and aerodynamic param-
eters, a first concept of the configuration layout can now be de-
termined. Namely, a boom mounted twin tail configuration was
selected (Fig. 13). The main wing geometry was based on the pa-
rameters that were defined during the previous section. The fuse-
lage and nacelles were designed in order to provide adequate inter-
nal storage space at a low aerodynamic drag penalty. Specifically,
an innovative shape was designed, by combining airfoil profiles, as
presented in Fig. 8. Such a design has also been used in the HCUAV
fuselage [18], as it yields a reduction in drag force, whereas the
contribution in the lift component, and consequently, the stability
aspects of the aerial vehicle is insignificant.
A first winglet concept was also developed. Designing an opti-
mized winglet requires an extensive study and effort [32], however
this is only an initial geometry, in order to introduce the winglet
concept to the configuration and define some key parameters. For
example, sweeping the tips aft and downwards was chosen for no-
shading purposes, given that the upper wing surface is covered by
solar cells. Finally, the empennage consists of two vertical surfaces
and a horizontal stabilizer, and its sizing satisfies the requirements
in solar panel area, low drag and stability. The stability analysis
was based on the methodology presented in [13].
In Fig. 9 a simplified view of the internal layout is presented,
where some possible locations for the installation of the engines,
motors, fuel tank and batteries are shown. To sum up, the con-
figuration layout of the hybrid solar aerial vehicle concept ensures
that key design parameters, such as aerodynamic efficiency, surface
shading and internal space for payload, engine and fuel storage, are
taken into account.
2.4.5. Aerodynamic study and CFD analysis
After defining the external geometry of the aerial vehicle, an
estimation of the aerodynamic characteristics has to be made in
order to proceed with the energy sizing of the aircraft. The aero-
dynamic coefficients play a major role in the methodology that
will be discussed in the following sections, therefore their accu-
Fig. 10. Computational mesh on the surface of the hybrid solar UAV.
rate estimation is vital. For that purpose both analytical methods
and computational fluid mechanics (CFD) were employed.
For the analytical calculations, the aerodynamic coefficient es-
timation methods that are presented in Roskam [16] were em-
ployed, which are based on theoretical aerodynamic relations, and
semi-empirical equations and charts. Specifically, these methods
use the main geometric and aerodynamic parameters of each part
as an input (e.g. the main wing mean chord, airfoil type, aspect
ratio and taper ratio, the fuselage length and mean diameter etc.)
and can be used to carry out a fast, low-fidelity aerodynamic anal-
ysis. The drag component is estimated separately for each part and
is then added to the total drag force, by taking the appropriate
interference factors into account, whereas the lift component is es-
timated by summing the effect of all lifting surfaces, which in the
case of the current concept were the main wing and empennage.
Considering the CFD computations, a 3D CAD of the concept
was designed, and by using the Ansys MESHING tool an unstruc-
tured grid was generated. Following a grid dependency study,
a number of approximately 8,800,000 computational nodes was
eventually selected. Furthermore, 17 inflation layers were imple-
mented on the walls, the first of which was placed at 2.5 · 10−5 m
from the wall. Thus, it was made sure that the y + does not ex-
ceed the value of 5 at any point of the surface grid, so that the
boundary layer phenomena can be properly modeled (Figs. 10, 11).
214 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Fig. 11. Computational mesh around the hybrid solar UAV. Mesh detail around the
airfoil of the main wing is presented on the bottom right, where the denser parts
of the mesh near the surfaces are also visible.
The Reynolds-Averaged–Navier–Stokes (RANS) were solved, cou-
pled with the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model [33], using the
Ansys CFX commercial software. The flow field was examined at a
wide range of angles of attack (from −8◦ to 20◦ ) in order to en-
sure that the stalling phenomena will be modeled as well.
The boundary conditions correspond to the flight conditions of
the loiter mission segment, which constitutes the largest part of
the mission, i.e. flight speed of 70 km/h, and ambient tempera-
ture and pressure corresponding to the flight altitude of 7,000 m.
The resulting Reynolds number equals to 1.1 · 106 , based on the
mean aerodynamic chord. Furthermore, regarding the turbulence
inlet conditions, the turbulence intensity was set at 1% and the
eddy viscosity ratio at 0.2, which represent some typical external
flow conditions, based on [34].
2.4.6. Performance evaluation
At this point, the key performance characteristics of the concept
are calculated by employing the methods presented in Anderson
[12] and Raymer [13]. Specifically, the operational and minimum
speeds, flight altitude and flight endurance are being estimated.
Based on the results, appropriate corrections were made to the
aerodynamic and geometric parameters of the UAV, to ensure that
the hybrid aerial vehicle fulfills the requirements and is up to the
task.
2.4.7. Refined weight estimation
The solar aspects of the design are taken into account during
this stage, including the contribution of the solar panels to the
total energy budget of the system. At first, the aerodynamic coeffi-
cient calculations, allow for the estimation of the required thrust,
which in turn yields the power that is required in order for the
aerial vehicle to maintain a steady level flight. For this purpose,
the following equations are used:
1 ergy collected by the solar panels, or E solar,collected [J]. Two maxima
W 0 = Lift = ρ V 2 SC L (14)
2 it is assumed that the aircraft takes-off during the night, to make
1
T req = Drag = ρ V 2 SC D (15)
2 clouds by the time the sun has risen, in order to maximize the
where “Lift” and “Drag”, are the lift and drag forces [N] generated
by the main wing respectively, ρ [kg/m3 ] is the freestream den-
sity, V [m/s] is the freestream velocity, S [m2 ] is the reference
area of the main wing, C L is the lift coefficient and C D is the drag
coefficient. The latter coefficients depend on the airfoil and wing
characteristics (geometry), and the angle of attack of the aircraft,
or α [deg]. Hence, with the flight altitude, and consequently ρ ,
defined from the requirements, W 0 defined from the initial weight
estimation, and the aircraft’s geometry defined from the config-
uration layout section, eq. (14) can be solved for α and V . Then,
Fig. 12. Power chart of the hybrid solar UAV concept. (For interpretation of the refer-
ences to color in this figure, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
eq. (15) yields a value for T req , i.e. the required thrust. The required
power, or P req,flight [W] can then be calculated:
P req,flight = T req · V (16)
The power consumption of the electro-optical equipment, or
P electronics , was estimated based on the designers’ experience on
similar applications [18]. The total required power of the UAV can
now be estimated:
P req = P req,flight + P electronics (17)
Moreover, an estimation was made regarding the total number
of solar cells that can be installed on the vehicle, by assuming that
they cover 90% of the upper side of the wing and empennage sur-
faces [10]. Therefore, the next step of the refined weight estimation
procedure is to employ the solar power estimation methodology
described in section 2.1 and to calculate the power collected by
the solar panels, let this be P solar ,collected [W].
Following the aforementioned steps, estimates for i) the power
that is required in order to operate the aircraft, or P req , and ii) the
power that is collected from the solar panels, or P solar ,collected , have
been calculated. The difference between those two values has to
be covered by fuel, hence:
P req = P solar,collected + P fuel (18)
If multiplied with the flight time, eq. (18) yields:
E req = E solar,collected + E fuel (19)
which essentially represents the energy budget of the aircraft.
Power charts can now be drawn, like the one presented in
Fig. 12, which shows the power budget of the UAV during 48 hours
of flight. The area surrounded by the black line represents the en-
appear in the chart, one for each day of operations. Furthermore,
sure that it has reached the operational flight altitude above the
flight endurance. The area surrounded by the red line represents
the energy which is required in flight, or E req . As the time passes
and the mission progresses, the aircraft burns fuel and its weight
is reduced (eq. (13)), therefore the required lift force (eq. (14)) and
consequently the drag force (eq. (15)) are reduced as well. That is
the reason why the red line has a negative slope i.e. the power-
required-to-fly diminishes over time.
Thus, after drawing the power chart of the aerial vehicle
(Fig. 12), the areas in green, orange and blue can now be calcu-
lated. Specifically:
 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
• The area in green represents the energy that is instantly used
in order to power up the aerial vehicle, or E solar,instant [J].
• The area in orange is the solar energy surplus which is stored
in the batteries in order to be used during the night, or
E solar,stored [J].
• The area in blue represents the remaining energy needs of the
hybrid solar aerial platform, or E deficit [J], that must either be
covered from the energy stored in the batteries, or by burning
fuel. That is:
E deficit = E solar,stored + E fuel
Eq. (19) can now be transformed to:
E req = E solar,instant + E solar,stored + E fuel = E solar,instant + E deficit
Therefore, E fuel can now be calculated. In order to estimate the
corresponding fuel weight, the following equation was used:
E fuel = W fuel · CV
where CV is the Calorific Value of the fuel. For simplification pur-
poses, it was assumed that the internal combustion engine will
utilize diesel fuel, and an average between the Higher and Lower
calorific values was used [35], that is:
HCV Diesel + LCV Diesel
E fuel = W fuel · = W fuel · 44100
2
The value that is estimated by eq. (23) corresponds to the fuel
burned during the loiter and cruise mission segments, since an
assumption for steady level flight conditions was made. For the
remaining missions segments, i.e. the take-off, climb, descent and
landing missions segments, statistical data were employed and ap-
propriately adjusted. An extra 6% of fuel that is stored in the tanks
for emergency purposes was also taken into account [13]. There-
fore, eqs. (24) to (28) are defined:
W1
Warmup & takeoff (0 → 1) : = 0.985
W0
W2
Climb(1 → 2) : = 0.95
W1
Cruise & Loiter (2 → 3) : W 2 − W 3 = W fuel
W4
Descent & Landing(3 → 4) : = 0.995
W3
 
Wf W4
= 1.06 1 −
W0 W0
where W 1 , W 2 , W 3 , W 4 are the aerial vehicle’s weight at the end
of each mission phase (Fig. 6). W fuel has been calculated from the
energy method described above and W 0 is the first weight esti-
mate that was calculated in a previous section.
Furthermore, considering the empty weight estimation, the pre-
sizing methods described in Noth [9] and Hall [36] were initially
employed, but the results were found to deviate greatly between
the two methods. Therefore, they were dropped as unreliable for
the purposes of this study. This was attributed to the fact that
they both refer to a different design case, as the former method-
ology has been developed for low-weight sailplanes, which have a
different design philosophy than the current concept, and the lat-
ter was developed in 1985, in a time where the technologies in
aeronautics and solar equipment were not as advanced as in the
present day. Hence, the empty weight estimation was based on
the well-established, advanced empty weight estimation methods
described in Raymer [13], modified in a way that the solar aspects
of the aerial system, such as the increased battery size and solar
cell structural weight, are also taken into account.
215
Hence:
W empty = W e,conventional + W sc + W batteries (29)
In conclusion, by summing up the refined estimations of fuel
weight, empty weight, and the fixed value of the payload weight,
a refined estimation of the W 0 can be calculated, by employing
eq. (12).
At this point it should be noted that in eqs. (18) to (23) the effi-
ciency ratios were skipped on purpose. As analyzed in section 2.2,
more than one propulsion systems have been conceptualized, fea-
(20)
turing different components and configurations, and therefore, dif-
ferent efficiency ratios apply at each case. An attempt to develop
different equations for all possible systems is beyond the scope of
the study and would rather confuse the reader. Therefore, it was
(21) decided to express the equations in their general form, so that
the designer may configure them appropriately, based on the data
given in section 2.2 and Table 1.
(22) 2.4.8. Iterative process and final weight estimation
As expected, the inclusion of the energy collected from the so-
lar panels into the total energy budget of the aircraft results in
a decrease in the weight of the fuel and, consequently, the total
weight of the UAV. Therefore, an iterative process has to be de-
fined in order to calculate a final estimate of the total weight of
the hybrid solar aerial platform.
(23) The first step is to calculate a new value for T req and P req . For
simplicity purposes the geometry of the concept, both planform
and airfoil, remains unchanged and the flight altitude constant, so
that the S and ρ can be treated as constants. Hence, eq. (14) and
eq. (15) can be written as
 
W 0 = Lift = f α, V 2 (30)
 2

T req = Drag = g α, V (31)
respectively. The most recent value of W 0 is substituted in eq. (30),
(24) yielding a combination for α and V . It is possible that more than
one combination satisfies eq. (30), hence it is up to the designer
to come up with the values that maximize aerodynamic efficiency.
(25)
These values are in turn substituted into eq. (31), yielding a new
(26) estimate of T req , and by employing eq. (18) and eq. (19), a new
estimate of P req is calculated and a new energy chart is drawn.
(27) As the geometry characteristics do not change, the area of so-
lar panels and, consequently, the amount of collected solar energy
remain fixed as well, that is
(28)
E solar,collected = constant (32)
Hence only the values E solar,stored and E fuel are readjusted, yield-
ing different values for W batteries and W fuel . Equations (24) to (29)
are in turn employed, a 6 × 6 system of equations is solved, and a
new estimate for W 0 can be calculated at each step.
The procedure is repeated, until a convergence for the total
weight of the aircraft is reached. The final weight estimates of the
hybrid solar aerial concept were based on this methodology, and
are presented in Table 2. The calculations yielded a 50% decrease
in fuel weight, between the first and the last iteration step, which
is attributed to the contribution of the solar power to the total en-
ergy budget.
Finally, it should be noted at this point that, during the concep-
tual design phase, cruise and loiter segments were dealt using a
common power chart, for simplicity purposes. During the prelim-
inary design phase though, where more detailed calculations are
required, cruise and loiter segments have to be dealt separately i.e.
3/ 2
C L /C D and C L /C D ratios should be maximized for each of the
two segments respectively [12].
216 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219

Table 2
Hybrid solar UAV technical characteristics and comparison between HALE solar- and fuel-powered UAVs. The values in bold correspond to the hybrid solar UAV concept that
was designed in this paper.

Hybrid Solar UAV concept HASSP HELIPLAT Altus II Viking 400

Gross takeoff weight 370 kg 370 kg 815.5 kg 968 kg 244 kg
Payload weight 50 kg 90.9 kg 100 kg 150 kg >34 kg
W p /W 0 0.135 0.246 0.123 0.155 0.139
Empty weight 215 kg 190 kg 555.5 kg 567 kg 145 kg
(incl. 45 kg batteries)
W e /W 0 0.58 0.51 0.68 0.58 0.59
Fuel weight 105 kg N/A N/A 251 kg 65 kg
Flight altitude 7 km 20 km 18 km >13 km 2 km
Flight endurance >48 h 1 year >6 months 24 h 10 h
Flight speed 70 km/h 100.6 km/h 71 km/h 130 km/h 111 km/h
Stall speed 27 km/h 77.8 km/h N/A N/A N/A
Wing reference area 50 m2 57.24 m2 176 m2 12.2 m2 4 m2
W /S 1.51 1.32 0.945 16.3 12.4
Wing span 31 m 29 m 73 m 16.9 m 6m
Wing mean chord 1.67 m N/A N/A N/A N/A
Aspect ratio 19 15 30 24 9
Taper ratio 0.5 0.6 0.32 N/A N/A
Wing airfoil FX 63-137 FX 74-CL6-140 E-216 (modified) N/A N/A

Fig. 13. 3D CAD model of the aircraft. The solar cell installation areas are illustrated
in blue color. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the
Fig. 15. Lift coefficient vs. angle of attack.
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

be mentioned at this point that the hybrid UAV is by no means

Fig. 14. Hybrid UAV conceptual drawing.
3. Results
The result of the design procedure is a UAV concept which
is capable of carrying-out the missions that it was designed for
and fulfills the initial requirements, by utilizing both conventional
and renewable energy resources. Fig. 13 shows a 3D CAD of the
concept, whereas the external geometry of the hybrid UAV is pre-
sented in Fig. 14.
Table 2 sums up the main geometric, performance and aerody-
namic characteristics of the hybrid UAV concept, as they were cal-
culated following the presizing methodology of Section 2. It should
an optimized concept, since only the conceptual design phase has
been carried-out. There is still much room for improvement to be
made in the latter design phases, including for example parametric
studies and detailed structural analysis.
In order to provide information concerning the validity of the
concept, a comparison between this concept, and two solar- and
two fuel-powered UAVs is also made in Table 2. Specifically, the
HELIPLAT [7] and the HASSP [24] are two solar-powered unmanned
aerial platforms, whereas the Altus II [30] and the Viking 400 [31]
are two fuel-powered unmanned aerial vehicles that have been
developed for civil purposes and surveillance operations. A direct
comparison in terms of e.g. weight values would be misleading, as
the five aircraft vary in terms of size and payload capacity. On the
contrary, a comparison between e.g. the W / S ratios can be made,
which shows that the hybrid concept has a slightly higher wing
loading than the solar-powered and a considerably lower wing
loading than the fuel-powered UAVs, for the reasons explained in
Section 2.4.
In Figs. 15 and 16 the aerodynamic coefficients of the hybrid
solar concept are presented and a comparison between the analyt-
ical and the CFD results is made. At low angles of attack the two
methods are in very good agreement. In higher angles of attack
though, the analytical results deviate from the CFD ones, as they
cannot predict stalling and viscous effects.
 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219 217

Table 3
Hybrid solar UAV energy data.

Energy collected during the flight

Mean case 73.5 kWh
Best case 113.5 kWh
Worst case 27 kWh

Energy surplus during the flight

Mean case 10 kWh
Best case 29.5 kWh
Worst case 0 kWh

Fuel consumption during the flight (Mean case)

Warmup & takeoff 5.47 kg
Climb 17.9 kg
Cruise & loiter 74.4 kg
Descent & landing 1.31 kg
Reserve (6%) 5.93 kg
Total 105 kg
Fig. 16. Drag polar of the hybrid solar UAV concept.

Fig. 17. Power chart of the hybrid solar UAV concept, on the 20th of March. (For
interpretation of the references to color in this figure, the reader is referred to the
web version of this article.) Fig. 18. Flow development around the aircraft at an angle of attack of 0◦ .

Fig. 17 presents the power chart of the hybrid solar UAV con-
cept, for the 20th of March, which stands for the mean case in
terms of solar irradiation. At first, the red and black curves are
drawn, and then the areas in blue, green, and orange are defined,
which are used for the calculation of the required energy quanti-
ties, as described in section 2.4. The starting point of the red curve,
i.e. the required power or P req , equals to 3.8 kW at the beginning
of the cruise & loiter segments, for an operational velocity and alti-
tude of 70 km/h and 7,000 m respectively (Table 2), and by taking
the power consumption of the electro optical equipment into ac-
count as well. The black curve, i.e. the power collected from the
sun or P solar,collected , presents two peaks, one for each day of op-
erations, corresponding to the maximum collected power of the
system per day. Specifically, the maximum value of each peak is
at approximately 5.1 kW, collected from a panel area of 45 m2 , at
42◦ N latitude.
In addition, Table 3 presents the key energy values for the hy-
brid solar UAV flight mission. The solar energy which is collected
by the solar cells is presented for the mean (March 20th), best
(June 20th) and worst (December 20th) cases. The mean case cor-
responds to Fig. 17, whereas for the other two cases the black
curve is adjusted based on the methodology presented in Sec-
tion 2.3. Moreover, the energy surplus, i.e. the amount of energy
which is stored in the batteries, for both operational days, is pre-
sented in Table 3 as well, for the mean, maximum and minimum
cases. The maximum value of energy surplus corresponds to the
best-case, whereas at the worst-case scenario no amount of en-
ergy is left for storage at all, as all the energy collected from the
sun is directly used to power-up the aerial vehicle. Finally, the fuel
weight required for each flight segment is given.
A comment regarding the worst- and best-case scenarios has
to be made at this point. In a purely solar aircraft the lack of so-
lar energy would cause the endurance of the vehicle to decrease
rapidly i.e. more than 60%, according to the “energy collected” fig-
ures given for the mean and worst cases in Table 3. In the case
of the hybrid concept though, fuel is used to power-up the aircraft
as well. Hence, during winter the batteries can be replaced with
smaller ones, depending on the corresponding energy surplus, and
the difference in weight can consequently be covered with extra
fuel in the tanks, so that the endurance of the hybrid-solar aerial
vehicle drops only by 5%, i.e. 45.6 h, without changing the W 0 .
On the contrary, during summer, where the energy collected by
the sun increases more than 50%, according to the “energy col-
lected” figures given for the mean and best cases in Table 3, the
endurance that can be achieved with the same amount of fuel in
the tanks, i.e. same W 0 , can consequently increase by up to ap-
proximately 72 h. These are important considerations that affect
the flight performance of aerial vehicles which depend on the en-
ergy of the sun, and should be further examined in the preliminary
design phase, where more information considering the aircraft e.g.
propulsion system type, is available.
The flow around the aerial vehicle, as a result of the CFD cal-
culations, is presented indicatively in Fig. 18 for 0 degrees of angle
of attack. Studying the external flow field is very important in op-
timizing the external geometry of the configuration, as important
218 P. Panagiotou et al. / Aerospace Science and Technology 53 (2016) 207–219
Fig. 19. Pressure distribution over the surface of the UAV concept at an angle of attack of 0◦ (a) and 8◦ (b).
information can be extracted e.g. regarding the interference be-
tween the different parts and wingtip vortical structures.
Finally, Fig. 19 presents examples of pressure contours over the
surface of the UAV, at two different angles of attack. Namely, the
pressure distributions at 0 and 8 degrees are indicatively shown.
From these results, the loads that are applied to surface of the
aircraft can be extracted. Consequently, in a more advanced design
phase, the required structural strength of the internal layout and
skin, as well as the required structural strength of the solar cells
can be calculated.
4. Conclusions
In the present paper, a hybrid solar UAV conceptual design
methodology has been developed. The basic presizing methods and
procedures have been adopted, including a solar irradiation es-
timation methodology. The energy budget of the vehicle can be
extracted and the respective charts can be drawn, thus allowing for
a more refined weight estimation to be made. Three possible hy-
brid propulsion system configurations are presented, and the panel
selection and battery sizing procedures are also discussed. The re-
sulting tool can be used in order to design both hybrid and purely
solar aerial vehicles.
Based on these tools, a hybrid solar aerial platform concept
was developed. The conceptual performance analysis shows that
it is capable of operating at 7,000 m, carrying 50 kg of electro-
optical equipment, thus fulfilling the initial mission requirements.
Emphasis was given on the energy aspects of the design, in or-
der to accurately estimate the required amount of fuel, panel area
and battery size, and to ultimately exploit the advantages of im-
plementing renewable energy technologies on a MALE UAV. Indica-
tively, considering the proposed concept, a remarkable potential in
increasing the endurance has been estimated, reaching up to 50%
during summertime.
Both the design methodology and the concept itself are not fi-
nalized though. For example, considering the presizing calculations
tool, a more detailed structural weight estimation methodology
could be incorporated, so that the geometry parameters may be in-
cluded in the refined weight estimation loop. As for the resulting
aerial vehicle, the analysis was limited to the conceptual design
phase. However, this concept can serve as a base for future pre-
liminary and detail design studies, either of a hybrid solar or of a
purely solar UAV platform.
Finally, an important conclusion that can be drawn from the re-
sults of this work is that much room for improvement in the field
of solar aircraft technologies still exists. For example, higher ef-
ficiency ratios in solar cells and higher energy density in energy
storage systems could aid a long way in decreasing the weight and
size of solar aerial vehicles. Hence, it follows that future technolog-
ical innovations in these areas could establish the solar energy as
the primary energy source in both unmanned and manned aircraft.
Conflict of interest statement
None declared.
Acknowledgements
I. Tsavlidis would like to thank Alexander S. Onassis Public Ben-
efit Foundation for granting him a scholarship for his studies.
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