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Descriptive Finding Guide for the Roland A. Boucher Personal Papers
SDASM.SC.10020
SDASM.SC.10020
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Title: Roland A. Boucher Personal Papers
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10020
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.36 Cubic feet
1 Box, 12” x 5” x 10.5”
Date (inclusive): 1932-2014
Abstract: Roland A. Boucher, engineer and inventor who founded AstroFlights, which worked with electric-powered radio controlled aircraft
and developed the world's first solar-powered aircraft. This is a collection pertaining photographs, slides, measurements,
correspondence, articles on AstroFlight, Hughes Aircraft solar aircraft transparencies, two notebooks with technical notes,
and a biography pertaining to Roland A. Boucher, inventor of the R/C car, the first air mobile satellite television transmission
station, and the first solar-powered airplane.
Related Archival Materials note
Located in the SDASM library are books pertaining to major topics covered in this collection. They include:
Boucher, Robert J. (1979). The quiet revolution : the complete manual of electric propulsion systems. Call number: TT 154
.B58
Images from this collection have been digitized and placed on Flickr.
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.
[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum
Library & Archives”]
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The materials in this Collection were donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. The collection has been fully processed
and is open for research with no restrictions.
Roland A. Boucher, engineer and inventor who founded AstroFlights, which worked with electric-powered radio controlled aircraft
and developed the world's first solar-powered aircraft.
Roland A. Boucher (1932 - ) was born July 12, 1932 in Windham County, Connecticut. He attended the University of Connecticut
and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science, Electrical Engineering with distinctive honors in 1954, and also attended Yale
University, graduating with a Master’s of Science in Engineering in 1955.
When he graduated from Yale University, Boucher joined the Hughes Aircraft Corporation of Culver City, CA. He was assigned
to coordinate the test and evaluation of the avionics equipment used on the F-106 first line fighter aircraft then in production.
At the time, the reliability of the first two squadrons was so poor that deployment to active military bases was in doubt.
Boucher was put in charge of a task force of engineers and technicians assigned to triple the in-flight time of the squadrons.
Within ten years he rose to the position of Engineering Manager and was involved in the design of satellites for communications
and navigation, during which time he developed an improved satellite camera for meteorological photographs. He then conceived,
developed, and demonstrated the feasibility of satellite to aircraft communications at VHF frequencies. In 1968 Boucher developed
the first air mobile satellite television transmission station, used in Columbia during the 1968 visit of Pope Paul VI and
later in China during the 1972 Nixon Presidential visit.
He left employment with Hughes Aircraft Company in 1973 to form a company - Astro Flights, a manufacturer of products for
electric-powered radio controlled aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, brushless industrial motors, the world's first solar-powered
aircraft and the world's first practical electric radio controlled model airplane.. He conceived and designed the vehicle,
which demonstrated the basic design feasibility in twenty-eight flights to five figure altitudes. All flights were powered
solely by incident sunlight on the flying surfaces.
Astro Flight was awarded an DARPA contract through Lockheed in 1974 in order to build the Sunrise, the world's first solar-powered
airplane. The historic flight, powered only by sunlight, took place November 4, 1974 at Fort Irwin, California. Two Astro
Flight Astro 40 ferrite motors powered the craft via a 6:1 gearbox swinging a 36x24 wood propeller. More than one thousand
solar cells on the wing were the sole source of energy, producing roughly 450 watts of power. The craft, weighing in at 27
pounds with its 32' wingspan, had a service ceiling of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) depending on available sunlight. 1975 saw both
the departure of Roland Boucher and damage to Sunrise I in a windstorm. It also saw the introduction of the improved Sunrise
II, built in just three months. Its maiden flight was on September 27, 1975 at Nellis AFB. Improvements included a single
Astro Flight Cobalt 40 motor powered by 4480 solar cells with an output of 600 watts. Climb rate was drastically improved
at over 300 feet (91 m) per minute as was the estimated service ceiling of 75,000 feet (23,000 m), although actual flights
did not exceed 20,000 feet (6,100 m) due to problems with both command and control.
In 1975 he conceived and developed a radio controlled electric model car, and along with his wife, Nancy, formed Leisure Electronics
to manufacture and market the product. Unsuccessful at first, it soon became a big hit with toy sellers throughout the nation.
In 2000 he was inducted into the Academy of Model Aviation (AMA) Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Boucher, Philip A., 1932-
Hughes Aircraft Company.
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Nellis Air Force Base (Nev.)
Project Sunrise
Solar Aircraft