Solar plane set to start first round-the-world flight
Solar Impulse 2 is set to embark on a landmark round-the-world flight powered only by the sun's energy, organisers announced on Tuesday
A solar powered plane is set to embark on a landmark round-the-world flight powered only by the sun's energy, organisers announced on Tuesday.
Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) is billed as the first solar-powered plane to be able to fly for several days and nights and it will land 12 times along the trip of around 35,000 kilometre (22,000 mile).
The flight includes a five-day leg above the Pacific Ocean without any fuel.
Solar Impulse chairman Bertrand Piccard said: "We want to demonstrate that clean technology and renewable energy can achieve the impossible. Renewable energy can become an integral part of our lives, and together we can help save our planet's natural resources."
The plane's route was unveiled in Abu Dhabi, where it will begin the flight in late February or early March.
Its first stop will be Muscat in Oman, to take advantage of the Gulf's low-cloud conditions.
It will then cross the Arabian Sea to Ahmedabad and Varanasi in India before heading to Mandalay, Myanmar, the Chinese cities Chongqing and Nanjing and on to Hawaii and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Landings are also planned for the American Midwest and either southern Europe or North Africa, depending on weather conditions before heading back to the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The longest single stretch will see a pilot fly the plane non-stop for five days and nights across 8,500 kilometres of the Pacific between Nanjing in China and Hawaii.
It will take approximately 25 days of total flying time for SI2 to complete its circumnavigation of the globe.
Although groundbreaking in distance, with flight speeds of 50-100 kilometres (30-60 miles) per hour, the entire journey is expected to take up to five months to complete.
Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) will take off from its base in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in late February or early March and return by late July or early August.
The route includes stops in Oman, India, China, the US and, possibly, Europe.
The team aiming to make history by flying a solar-powered plane around the world have announced their flight plan.
Swiss pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard will take turns flying the plane, which has a 72m (236ft) wingspan.
Mr Piccard made the first non-stop, round-the-world balloon flight, and has said to reporters: "It has been 13 years we have been preparing for this moment, so it's the moment of truth."
Mr Borschberg said: "It is extremely reliable in terms of technology but if we rely on the sun as a source of energy night-time is a big suspense."
The vast wingspan is larger than that of the Boeing 747-8I, but at 2,300kg (5070lbs), the carbon-fibre SI2 weighs the same as the average car.
During daylight hours its 17, 248 solar cells recharge the engine's lithium batteries which enable it to fly at night.
Borschberg and Piccard made a record-setting, coast-to-coast journey across the United States, from California to New York, using Solar Impulse.
The plane also completed a 26-hour overnight flight in 2010 being the first aircraft capable of flying day and night without fuel, and flew from Switzerland to Morocco in 2012.
Its solar panels harvested energy from the sun, which could be stored in onboard batteries that allowed the plane to stay powered overnight.
