Many of those involved in the project, including chief designer Dr. Paul MacCready, were experienced hang glider pilots. (Paul MacCready is perhaps more famous for his sailplane instrumentation and his pedal-powered aircraft.)

Because the solar cells of the time could not be curved, the top of the wings and tailplanes were flat, resulting in an 'upside-down' airfoil section. It flew perfectly well even so.

This conflicts with a widespread 'explanation' of aerodynamic lift which has it that the difference in length between the curved upper surface and the flat (or less curved) undersurface creates a pressure differential and thus lift. If this really was the basis of flight, the Solar Challenger would never have become airborne.

To quote R.J. Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire (World War Two British fighter): "... if anyone tries to tell you something about an aeroplane which is so damn complicated that you can't understand it, you can take it from me it's all balls."