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Solar is bad for any aircraft that needs to change altitude rapidly, or contend with weather. The best way to transport passengers on a solar-powered aircraft would probably be to have a very large solar powered plane that remains airborne for months at a time, flying above the clouds, with smaller airplanes that shuttle passengers between it and airports.

Of course with that you have to deal with the issues of rendezvous of two flying aircraft, energy storage through the night, and pressurization of a large space. But it would avoid many of the inherent issues in solar powered aircraft.




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