- Specifications
- See also
- References
{{DISPLAYTITLE:MacCready Gossamer Penguin}}| name = Gossamer Penguin | image = Gossamer penguin.jpg | caption = Test flight of the Gossamer Penguin }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type = experimental aircraft | national origin = United States | manufacturer = AeroVironment | designer = Paul MacCready | first flight = 1979 | introduction = | retired = | status = | primary user = | more users = | produced = | number built = 1 | program cost = | unit cost = | developed from = Gossamer Albatross | variants with their own articles = | developed into = Solar Challenger
}} |
The Gossamer Penguin was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. The Penguin was a 3/4 scale version of the Gossamer Albatross II, and had a 71 ft.(21.64 meter) wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of {{convert |68|lb |abbr=on}}. The powerplant was an AstroFlight Astro-40 electric motor, driven by a 541 watt solar panel consisting of 3920 solar cells.[2] Initial test flights were performed using a 28 cell NiCad battery pack instead of a panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed {{convert |80|lb |abbr=on}}. The official pilot for the project was Janice Brown, a charter pilot with commercial, instrument, and glider ratings who weighed slightly less than {{convert | 100|lb |abbr=on}}. She flew the Penguin approximately 40 times before a {{convert | 1.95| mi |abbr=on}} public demonstration at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on August 7, 1980.[3] Specifications{{Aircraft specs
|ref=MacCready, Lissaman, Morgan, and Burke 1983
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|fuel capacity=28 x D type Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) cells or 3920 solar cells
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Astro-Flight Astro-40
|eng1 type=double brush DC electric motor with 133:1 reduction
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}}See also{{commonscat|Gossamer Penguin}}{{Portal|Aviation|Renewable energy}}{{aircontent
|related=- MacCready Gossamer Albatross
- MacCready Solar Challenger
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}}References1. ^1 {{citation | publisher = NASA | place = USA | url = http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Albatross/HTML/ECN-13413.html | title = Solar-powered Gossamer Penguin in flight}}.
2. ^1 {{cite book|last1=Boucher|first1=Robert, J.|title=History of Solar Flight (AIAA-84-1429)|date=June 11–13, 1984|publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics|location=20th Joint Propulsion Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio|url=http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.1984-1429|accessdate=2 February 2015}}
}}{{AeroVironment aircraft}}{{Photovoltaics}} 7 : AeroVironment aircraft|Canard aircraft|Single-engined pusher aircraft|Solar-powered aircraft|United States experimental aircraft 1980–1989|Photovoltaics|Aircraft first flown in 1979 |