Since every industry is preoccupied with trends, it comes as no surprise that airships have come into vogue among the aviation-inclined once more. The Solar Ship from Canada’s Solar Ship (what?) is a solar-powered energy-efficient flying machine that doesn’t register high in the sexy scale (a place reserved for the F22 Raptor) but is actually quite feasible. It’s also rugged and slow enough for the passenger to take nice photos (see below).
If you’re intrigued by the landscape, that’s the Solar Ship being in a test flight above the Brazilian Amazon. Essentially a hybrid aircraft that’s still in prototype stage, the Solar Ship comes in three variants. Each have varying degrees of cargo capacity but are fundamentally the same.
The Solar Ship (or Solar Ships) are meant as transport solutions in underdeveloped areas where runways and infrastructure are scarce, hence their reliance on dual energy sources, namely batteries and solar energy.
Oh yeah ! A video:
Source Gizmag
