SOLAR-POWERED RACE ACROSS AUSTRALIA FILLS DREAMS
AS STUDENTS BUILD AND PREPARE TO TEST AIRSHIP PROTOTYPE

EDITORS: George Weinmann may be reached for an interview, or to
arrange airship photos or videotape, at (804) 295-6598 or (e-mail)
ggw5y@virginia.edu 

	In the searing heat of August in an old airplane hangar, 15
University of Virginia students are cheerfully perspiring as they
construct a 30-foot-long prototype of the solar-powered airship that
will be AmericaÕs only entry in a 1,800-mile race across Australia
against international competitors. ItÕs the stuff of dreams for
youngsters finally giving the project tangible form after nearly a
year of research, conferences, developing specifications and
preparing a design.

	Solar-powered vehicles from Germany, Japan, England and New
Zealand are expected to compete against the U.Va. team in the first
World Solar Airship Race next year, and the students are working day
and night to get their prototype ship in the air and start putting
it through its paces.
Lessons they learn in this phase will be used next spring in the
final design and construction of their actual remote-controlled
racing vehicle, which will be two-and-one-half times as large.

	Under the coordinating eye of engineering student George
Weinmann, the U.Va. students are cutting a coated polyester fabric
into precisely measured and shaped strips, called gores, that will
be bonded together at the edges to form a long, oval envelope that
can hold helium. A system of lightweight rods within the envelope,
connected with fine cables, will define its shape. One section of
fabric will be clear, rather than painted, so the structureÕs
interior can be inspected.

	Weinmann said the team plans to finish assembling the
prototype and painting it with distinctive markings by Aug. 24. It
will take a public bow a few days later, he added, at an Aug. 29
student activity fair on the historic U.Va. Lawn designed by Thomas
Jefferson. 

	Built to test the airshipÕs design and provide data for its
improvement, the prototype wonÕt carry the sophisticated
solar-powered drive, computer-based navigation system and array of
photovoltaic energy-collecting cells that will be aboard the racing
ship, Weinmann noted. It will have an electric engine, he said, and
a remote-control system based on the devices used to control model
airplanes. Members of a model airplane club that shares the use of
the abandoned airfield near Charlottesville where the ship is being
built may also share their ideas on the control system.

	Competitors will Ōthread a very fine needleĶ on their long
north-south journey across Australia through varying weather
conditions, Weinmann said. TheyÕll have to travel through a corridor
slightly more than a mile wide and half a mile high, with penalty
points assessed against a team any time its vehicle strays outside
the corridor.
	Subject to changes adopted as a result of tests on the
prototype, the racing vehicle concept is of a helium-filled airship
about 75 feet long, shaped like a slender blimp -- but with features
that are far more advanced than those on blimps. Photovoltaic cells
mounted on the hull will collect solar energy to drive the shipÕs
propeller and store reserves in hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells for use
when the sun isnÕt shining. Solar energy is the only power source
that can be used in the race.

	To keep within the narrow race course, the students plan to
use a sophisticated ground control system developed by the
military.  It employs a computer-based navigation system aboard the
ship, a control system on the ground and global positioning (GPS)
satellites. Although the race rules call for flight only during
daylight hours, Weinmann says the U.Va. ship will be capable of
flying around the clock.  Students will fly the ship with ground
controls mounted in several vehicles,working in relays as they
follow it via highways and byways across Australia.

	If you are unable to reach George Weinmann, or need other
assistance, contact Tom Doran of U.Va. News Services at (804)
924-6858, 924-7116, or ted8f@virginia.edu.

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August 18, 1995