General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

5

Total Parts

7

AKA

Starboard wing

Patents

N/A

General Description

Balsa wood frame with a synthetic covering, copper (possible) wires and strips and a foam (possible) wing tip.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

225.0 cm

Width

44.5 cm

Height

8.9 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Models

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

University

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Downsview

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

September-October, 1987

Canada

Unknown

Function

Part of a UAV designed to provide lift.

Technical

While it is true that the thin-film etched- or printed-circuit rectenna was not a Canadian invention, the fact is that Canadian researchers developed and patented improved and innovative designs of rectennas that were well adapted to the SHARP. The CRC’s unique rectenna design included two critically spaced layers of rectennas arranged at right angle to each other. This configuration maximised the amount of power collected by the SHARP, without having to turn the antenna array on the ground to keep it aligned with the model’s rectennas. The very design of the SHARP proved to be quite a challenge. The vehicle had to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible, which meant a long and slender wing. On the other hand, it also had to catch as much microwave radiation as possible, which meant a large collecting area. As was written above, the engineers developed and patented a highly innovative concept that combined a slender fuselage with a pylon-mounted wing and a large circular rectenna array to collect the microwaves. More rectennas of the type patented by the CRC were mounted underneath the wing and fuselage. This configuration offered the best achievable compromise between maximum aerodynamic efficiency and minimum variation in microwave beam power density. Some patents were issued as a result of the work done on the SHARP project (see References tab). Some Master’s Theses were also written by University of Toronto students as a result of this work. As of 2013, the SHARP project was the most advanced microwave-powered airplane project anywhere in the world. (From Acquisition Proposal, see Ref. 1)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On the proper bottom, written in black ink on the film covering the wiring network: "64.5g/ with wire/ 62.5g"

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

The proper top is predominantly white, approximately three quarters of the surface area, and about a quarter is red (toward the tip of the wing). The proper bottom is predominantly red with a strip of white along the leading edge. Approximately two thirds of the bottom surface is covered in a network of copper coloured strips and wires covered with a translucent, slightly yellow synthetic film. On the proper right end, where the wing attaches to the rest of the UAV, the light-coloured wood frame and black, red and white wires used to connect the electronic components to the rest of the UAV are visible. At the edges of this area on the proper bottom, there are also strips of black adhesive tape.

Decoration

N/A