Luminati Aerospace, a technology company based on Long Island, New York, brought a new solar-electric-powered single-seat airplane to Sun ‘n Fun this week. CEO Daniel Preston told AVweb the V-Zero Substrata airplane will fly at the show on Saturday in the Experimental Showcase. It has a four-hour endurance with the motor running, he said, and a 200-nm range. Preston said he plans to next produce six twin-seat versions of the airplane, starting later this summer. Four of those will go to research institutions.
Preston said the company has been working on the airplane for about four months, and it’s derived from a much larger UAV version that he’s building for a client. “It’s a wonderful airplane to fly,” he said. “The technology has matured to the point where you can have a viable solar-electric aircraft. It has pretty respectable performance.” The airplane has a top speed of about 70 knots and can fly up to 28,000 feet. “It has a 200-nm range. And you can park it in the sun, and four hours later it’s ready to go again,” Preston said.
