• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Mounting flexible solar panel on aluminum aircraft

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

12notes

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2014
Messages
1,286
Location
Louisville, KY
I am planning on using a flexible 100W solar panel on my Hummelbird to recharge the LIFePO4 battery which will be running the radio, instruments, lights, and possible future transponder. I already have the solar panel, it measures 21.25"x11"x.080" (EDIT:typo originally said 12.25) (540x280x2.5mm) and weighs just under 1 lb.(440g), however, I can trim about 1" from the length and width, and probably will to remove the brass mounting grommets at the corners. This would be mounted to the wing, for the simple reason that it is not flexible enough to conform to the cowling or turtledeck, and is too large for the horizontal stabilizer. I do not want to use a smaller panel, even though 100W is overkill, as conditions would frequently keep the output far from the maximum, and also for more electronics I may implement later. I am not interested in a portable unit to be unrolled and set up when on the ground for three reasons - I would like to recharge during flight, portable systems tend to weigh more, and, most importantly, I am lazy and don't want to have to set it up/break it down.

I've thought of several ways to mount it, but none seem ideal, and was hoping to get a few ideas and hopefully tips from someone who has done it before. My plan is to mount it behind the main spar. This could either be on the center section wing stub (~2' wide, ribs every 6") or outer wing panel (6' wide, ribs every 12"). I'm leaning towards the outer wing panel, as any drag/turbulence/aero weirdness caused wouldn't affect the tail. The panel has a small electronics box on the bottom, I would have to cut a hole in the skin to mount it, so I don't have the luxury of trying different placements.

Ideas I've had:
1. Epoxy the panel on top of the wing skin. This is by far the simplest method, and could make a smooth transition, but would make it difficult to replace, unless there is some chemical solvent dissolveable epoxy that would last until intentionally removed.

2. Screw down .020" aluminum joggle strips over the edges. This would be easiest to remove the panel, but not sure about how aerodynamically ugly. How much does a 11" wide 0.1" bump on one wing matter with a VNE of 150mph, and cruise around 105?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top