Aircraft Showcased After 30+ Years In Storage

The EAA recently put the Mauro Solar Riser back on display in their Museum. The aircraft has been in their possession for over 40 years.

The Solar Riser is the world’s first crewed ultralight powered purely by solar energy. It was also only the second solar-powered aircraft to ever take flight, just over four years after the uncrewed AstroFlight Sunrise.

Larry Mauro, a member of EAA Chapter 1, was the Solar Riser’s designer and pilot. It was manufactured by Ultralight Flying Machines. The design was based on one of Mauro’s earlier designs, the UFM Easy Riser, which is a biplane hang glider.

The aircraft was powered by the Bosch 2.6 kW electromotor, which had NiCa battery packs. Solar panels were attached to the wings, providing 350 W of energy to the batteries. These, however, could only receive power on the ground. As a result, the aircraft could not sustain flight for very long -- a maximum of 5 minutes.

On April 29, 1979, the Solar Riser made its first flight in Riverside, California. Its career was short-lived, making only a few more runs before being donated to the EAA. It has flown less than a dozen times in total.

The Solar Riser was displayed in the electric flight exhibit of the EAA’s old museum location. In 1981, a Japanese EAA Chapter requested to borrow the aircraft for its “Sponsoring Solar Energy Exhibition.” It was disassembled and shipped to the Chapter for the event and soon returned to the US, where it remained on display until the Franklin Air Museum’s closure.

After almost a decade of Oshkosh Airventure showcases, the Solar Riser was put in storage. 30 years later, it was placed in the EAA’s Aviation Museum just in time for this year’s Oshkosh Airventure airshow.

To preserve the Riser’s original characteristics, the EAA has left it unrestored. It is currently located among decades of aviation accomplishments in the museum’s Innovations Gallery.

FMI: www.eaa.org