The Gossamer Penguin was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. MacCready, whose Gossamer Condor in 1977 won the Kremer prize for human-powered flight, told reporters in June, 1980 that "The first solar-powered flight ever made took place on May 18." The testing ground was at Minter Field outside of Shafter, California. The Penguin was a three-quarter scale version of the Gossamer Albatross II; it had a 71 ft wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of 68 lb. The propeller was driven by an AstroFlight Astro-40 electric motor, powered by a 541 watt solar panel, consisting of 3920 solar cells. Initial test flights were performed using a 28–cell, NiCad battery pack instead of a solar panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed 80 lb. The official pilot for the project was Janice Brown, a charter pilot with commercial, instrument, and glider ratings who weighed slightly less than 100 lb. She flew the Penguin approximately 40 times before a 1.95 mi public demonstration flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on August 7, 1980.

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