Pakistan’s first Solar Airplane ready to fly in the air

Keeping in mind the importance of energy conservation for the progress of the country, two students of engineering at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) manufactured a solar model plane.

Named as Shams One, the solar plane was manufactured by Abdul Mateen and Syed Muhammad Junaid, students of School of Engineering at UMT. Shams One is a remote control (RC) device, which can fly without any fuel but using solar energy stored in a battery. The plane has eight-hour flight timing and range up to 1,000 feet.

While describing the features of plane, one of the students, Muhammad Junaid told Daily Times that Shams One is not the first solar airplane ever designed, but it is certainly the most ambitious. “None of its predecessor models has ever managed to fly right through the air with only one motor on board,” he said, adding that the pilot would be in contact via satellite where the professionals would monitor the route and manage its performance and energy.

“In the first round, we are planning to fly Shams One high above the Arabian Sea and around the world,” said Junaid, adding that taking off and landing on the biggest international airports with an experimental aircraft will connect Pakistan to the rest of the world. This airplane could also be used for monitoring damages of natural disasters such as flood and earthquake aftermath, he claimed.

Abdul Mateen said, “At first we did not succeed in our goal, but determination and self belief kept us going until we fulfilled our mission. If resources are provided, we can have an airplane which is fully sustainable in terms of energy, relying totally on the Sun,” he claimed.

Commenting on the issue, UMT Rector HasanSohaibMurad said that Pakistani youth have talent in abundance and they can discover new worlds and conquer skies. In a country where it is believed that most of things are imported and nothing is made, the genius people are showing up their talent one after another, he said adding, “Our students have already manufactured a solar car and one of our faculty member FaranAwais Butt has recently won US Patent in radar technology.”