DLR’s solar aircraft HAP-alpha has completed its first test flight at Cochstedt airport in Germany, spending about 70 minutes in the air and climbing to a height of 180 metres. The unmanned aircraft is part of the German Aerospace Center’s high-altitude platform programme and was tested at the agency’s national centre for unmanned aerial systems.
The initial sortie focused on basic flight capability and manoeuvres needed to validate the concept before higher-altitude development. Cochstedt’s role as DLR’s dedicated test centre for unmanned aviation made it the natural venue for the trials, with the airport providing the controlled environment needed for low-level testing.
HAP-alpha has a wingspan of 27 metres and weighs 138 kilograms, placing it among the lighter aircraft in its category. DLR plans to review the flight data before conducting another low-altitude mission. The programme is intended to move step by step from early handling checks towards higher flights as the aircraft’s performance is assessed.