Solar powered drones: flying wing, multicopter, glider
Channel: Aleksey Zaitsevsky
Date: 2022-09-23

The mass of flying wing is 300 grams. Surface load 15 g/dm2. Power load 20 g/W. Solar panels  give a maximum voltage of 8 volts and a current of up to 3A. 5 Farad supercapacitor is used instead of a battery. Capacitor allow you to have a full power for a couple of seconds. The charge will last for a minute of gliding In the dark. When the voltage drops, the engine automatically reduces speed and turns off. This way the speed controller performs the function of an MPPT controller to optimize the power taken from the solar panels. In level flight, the current consumption is more than 1 A. With a consumption of 3 A, simple aerobatics can be performed. Minimal light intensity for flight is 60,000 Lux. 
Multicopter does not have a battery and is powered by the sun only. Additional capacitors are soldered to the speed controllers. The toy can be used in calm weather and illumination of about 100,000 lux.
The glider accumulates energy by increasing the altitude. And It has a battery to store energy. The lithium battery and gliding give you an extra hour of flight. Signal repeater on board such drone allows other drones to fly lower on a long distances.