Posted at 12 p.m., Friday, July 6, 2001

High winds delay solar-powered flight

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua‘i Bureau

Mana Kaua'i — Today's planned flight of the Helios solar-powered flying wing was scrubbed because of high winds.

The aircraft's inaugural flight has been rescheduled for tomorrow at 7:50 a.m.

The problem winds are part of the jet stream, which has dipped farther south than normal, and created winds in excess of 90 mph earlier this week between 40,000 and 50,000 feet above the surface.

Those winds are moderating, but had not yet dropped enough to allow the Helios to safely fly to the 70,000 or 80,000 feet its operators hope for, said John Hicks, project manager for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program.

The Helios is a lightweight wing that extends 247 feet from tip to tip. From front to back, the wing is only eight feet. There is no fuselage or tail assembly as might be found on a conventional aircraft, but Hicks said Helios is stable in flight.

The wing is covered with photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity. The power is used to turn the propellers on 14 electric motors affixed to the leading edge of the wing.

NASA and Helios builder Aerovironment hope this summer to fly the experimental aircraft to 100,000 feet over Kaua'i. Tomorrow's flight is primarily to test the wing's systems and will not reach that altitude.

The eventual plan is to create a vehicle that will be able to maintain altitude day and night, remaining aloft for as much as six months at a time.

Such a craft could serve as a viewing platform or communications transceiver that would be much less costly than satellites.

The public will be allowed onto the Pacific Missile Range Facility starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow for viewing of the Helios flight.

You can reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808)245-3074.