Any day now, five people will toss one of the world’s most sophisticated remote-control planes into the air at the U.S. Army’s proving ground in Yuma, Ariz. It’s the latest incarnation of QinetiQ’s Zephyr, a solar-powered, high-altitude unmanned machine that unofficially set the record for the most time aloft in July 2008. It flew for 3.5 days. Now, its creators hope to break that record with the latest design tweaks. Their end goal is to fly for three months. But for this new version’s first test flight, Zephyr’s crew is aiming for two weeks in the sky.
Full story: QinetiQ’s Zephyr Solar Powered High Altitude Plane – Solar Powered UAV Plane Record – Popular Mechanics