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How To Make A Solar Powered RC Blimp

Solar powered RC blimps are very easy to control and they can fly much further than the usual model blimps. In this article, we’ll show you how to make this toy.

As with any other projects, you have to prepare a few basic things:

1. An RC Blimp
2. Flexible solar panels
3. Enamel coated copper wires

While we’ll not teach you the basics of how to make a blimp, we’ll discuss about how to convert your ordinary blimp into a solar powered one.

The most important component here is the flexible solar panel, so we’ll talk a little about this. Then we’ll look at how to wire it to your blimp.

Flexible solar panels have a good bending radius and can wrap around the top of your blimp very easily. Many flexible solar panels also come with a pressure-sensitive adhesive. This makes it easy to attach the photovoltaic film on most surfaces.

It is important that your solar panels are light. This is because additional weight affects the buoyancy of the aircraft. This makes thin-film solar panels an ideal choice.

In order to know how many flexible solar panels you can put on your blimp, you must first calculate (or test) how much additional weight your blimp can hold. Then divide this number by the weight of each panel you have chosen.

If the power requirement if insufficient, you have to choose another type of flexible solar panel or look for other manufacturers. (hopefully not…)

This process is somewhat recursive. So you’ll have to first make a good guess, and then grope towards a better decision as you punch the numbers into your calculator.

The best thin-film solar panels to use on blimps are long and slim types. They do not warp your blimp and are easy to handle.

To paste them on your blimp, paste each film along the circumference. Make sure you space them apart equally along the length of the aircraft.

If your flexible solar panels come with an adhesive, you’ll have an easier job. Otherwise you can apply glue on the back of the solar film and let it rest for a minute before pasting it on the blimp’s surface.

Once this is done, connect your solar panels together using copper wires and test them. You must get the correct voltage and current output before proceeding further.

Copper wires should not be left to hang loose. You can use a little glue to stick them to the surface of the blimp. This is not easy, but it helps to prevent wires from breaking. (Wires often get hooked on thing as the blimp moves through tight passages.)

Finally, solder the output of the flexible solar panels in parallel with your battery pack. With this, your solar powered RC blimp is complete.