Solar plane revs up for historic round-the-world flight

ABU DHABI: A solar powered plane aims to fly into history today, taking off from Abu Dhabi on a round-theworld odyssey to promote alternative energy.

The flight of Solar Impulse 2, whose hoped-for Saturday takeoff had to be put off due to strong winds, will cap 13 years of research and testing by two Swiss pilots whose idea was ridiculed by the aviation industry.

The Si2 made a third successful test flight in the United Arab Emirates last Monday, and mission chiefs reported no problems.

Solar Impulse’s chairman and one of the pilots is Bertrand Piccard, who hails from a family of scientist adventurers and was the first person, in 1999, to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon.

“We want to demonstrate that clean technology and renewable energy can achieve the impossible,” he said.

“Renewable energy can become an integral part of our lives, and together we can help save our planet’s natural resources,” he said when the Si2’s route was unveiled in January.

The plane is powered by more than 17,000 solar cells built into wings that, at 72m, are almost as long as those of an Airbus A380 super jumbo.

Thanks to an innovative design, the light-weight carbon fibre aircraft weighs only 2.3 tonnes, about the same as a family 4X4 and less than 1% of the weight of the A380.

Si2 is the first sun-powered aircraft able to stay aloft for several days and nights.

The propellor craft has four 17.5hp electric motors with rechargeable lithium batteries.

It will land 12 times on the trip lasting about 25 days spread over five months.

The longest single leg will see a lone pilot fly non-stop for five days across the Pacific Ocean between Nanjing, China and Hawaii, a distance of 8,500km.

“Solar Impulse 2 must accomplish what no other plane in the history of aviation has achieved – flying without fuel for five consecutive days and nights with only one pilot in the unpressurised cockpit,” said Andre Borschberg, the company’s cofounder and chief executive, who is a former Swiss air force pilot. — AFP