Greater Philadelphia Section

Nearly 1/3 of the world’s population, living mostly within +- 20 degrees of the equator and in other remote areas, have no cell phone connectivity due largely to the lack of communication towers. This talk will survey recent designs for achieving sustained solar powered aircraft flight at or above 60,000 feet. It will explain how these designs are fundamentally limited by present day solar cell, battery and light weight composite airframe design technology. A possible solution to this challenging problem will be described that involves Vortex Seeking Formation Flight (VSFF) whose purpose is to minimize formation drag. This presentation will explain why this is the only way (presently) to achieve year-round perpetual solar powered flight at reasonable latitudes, and illustrate several reasonable design concepts that can provide a pathway for its achievement.

While at Georgia Tech, Dr. Calise built a program in Flight Mechanics and Control (FMC). During his tenure the FMC disciplinary area grew to 5 faculty members, and was considered one of the best in the country. Throughout his academic career Dr. Calise served as a consultant to industry in the areas of helicopter, aircraft, launch vehicles, satellites and guided parafoil flight control. He is a Fellow of AIAA, and nationally and inter-nationally recognized as an expert in the areas of guidance and flight control, and control of flexible systems.