Zephyr, Airbus’s solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle, crashed in Arizona on August 19 after two months of continuous flight.
Zephyr concludes its continuous flight days in Arizona. (Photo: Airbus)
According to Simple Flying, Airbus has been testing various versions of the Zephyr aircraft for many years. The latest version of the Zephyr almost broke the longest flight record held by a Cessna 172 Skyhawk from 63 years ago. Known as the Hacienda flight, the Cessna was airborne for 64 days and 22 hours. Although unmanned, Zephyr could have surpassed this record. However, the flight encountered an issue on August 19. Simple Flying monitored public data about the flight from the ADS-B Exchange database.
Flying under the ZULU82 call sign, Zephyr was at an altitude of 13,000 to 15,000 meters on August 19 over the Arizona desert. The vehicle experienced a malfunction after completing an S-shaped flight maneuver at a speed of 93 to 111 km/h and began to rapidly descend. At one point, the aircraft’s descent rate exceeded 1.38 km/min. Although Airbus has not found the wreckage, the vehicle is likely to have sustained significant damage. The Airbus team is reviewing over 1,500 hours of Zephyr’s stratospheric data to plan the next mission.
With the Zephyr aircraft series, Airbus utilizes the most abundant renewable energy source, solar energy, to power long-duration flights. Zephyr is not a commercial aircraft designed for passenger transport over long distances. Instead, it operates in the stratosphere at an altitude of 21,000 meters, nearly twice that of conventional jets.
The aircraft features a wingspan of 25 meters but weighs less than 75 kg. According to Airbus, Zephyr can be used for aerial photography or to carry radar and automatic identification systems for military, research, or commercial purposes. At its highest altitude, Zephyr can provide coverage equivalent to 250 mobile towers, enhancing connectivity in some of the most remote areas of the world. Due to its solar-powered operation, the vehicle can remain airborne for extended periods. Previously, Airbus had successfully flown Zephyr continuously for more than two weeks on several occasions. This time, Zephyr reached the milestone of 64 days before descending.
