Solar Impulse All Solar Aircraft
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, with CEO André Borschberg at its controls, landed successfully at 09:00 am of July 8 at the Payerne airbase in Switzerland after a flight of 26 hours fueled solely by solar power.
After a disappointing weeklong delay, the plane took off at 6:51 am July 7. The plane then circled the Swiss Plateau and reached a maximum altitude of 28,500 (8700 m) at 16:40h. The prototype circled the base till sundown at 19:30, the 12,000 solar panels that cover the 210 foot (63.4 meter) expanse of its wing soaking up sunlight to fully charge its 880 pounds (400kg) of batteries.
With its four electric engines silently keeping it aloft, the aircraft then glided slowly through the night to a height of 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) by dawn. Following its predetermined flight plan of 26 hours, the plane then slowly descended to its 9:00 am landing.
As he climbed out of the cockpit, an emotional Borschberg said, “I’ve been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career. Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. And then that suspense, not knowing whether we were going to manage to stay up in the air the whole night. And finally the joy of seeing the sun rise and feeling the energy beginning to circulate in the solar panels again! I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution!”
Bertrand Piccard, initiator and President of the project, went on to say that “This is a crucial step forward, it gives full credibility to the speeches we hold since years about renewable energies and CleanTechs and allows us now to get closer to the perpetual flight without using a drop of fuel!”
The international team of designers, engineers, craftsmen and pilots plan to fly the craft across the Atlantic next year, and then circumnavigate the globe in 2012, all without emission and fueled only by the sun.
For more information, including video, visit their website solarimpulse.com.
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