Solar Impulse takes aim at fuelless flight record
This all-solar plane will fly from France to Morocco without using a drop of fuel
by EarthTechlingon 5/1/2012
A solar-powered airplane will attempt to fly in to the history books once more when it tries to go 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) without using a drop of fuel.
The pilots of the plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, want to undertake the two-day journeyfrom France to Morocco as a dress rehearsal for the ultimate goal of flying around the world in 2014.
Planned for May or June, the 48-hour flight over the Pyrenees mountain range and the Mediterranean will touch down near the Moroccan town of Ourzazate, on the edge of the Sahara desert.
Going for the record
It will be the longest distance yet covered by the two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, who plan to swap places in the cockpit at a technical stopover in Spain, allowing them to tag-team the flight. Borschberg recently completed three days and three nights of flight simulation in Dübendorf, Switzerland, during which the Solar Impulse team was able to test the human challenge posed by long flights.
This latest attempt will dwarf the solar plane’sinaugural flight last year, when it went 630 km (340 miles) on a journey between France and Belgium.
A plane this light and of this size has never been built before. Piccard and Borschberg spent seven years developing the craft which has the wingspan of an Airbus A340 (63.4m) and yet weighs only as much as an average family car.
The revolutionary carbon fiber aircraft has 12,000 solar cells built into its wing which recharge a set of four 400 kilo lithium batteries housed in the engine pods during flight. The plane averages about eight horsepower — similar to what the Wright Brothers managed when they first flew in 1903.
Airlines going green
There is more to the Solar Impulse than just its sleek looks, however. The craft offers possibilities for commercial planes that could rely on electricity rather than jet fuel. Rising oil prices and new regulations are bringing theairline industry under renewed pressure to find alternatives to petroleum fuel.
A new EU law that took effect in January makes it obligatory for airlines flying in and out of Europe to purchase carbon permits to offset their emissions. Many airlines have already taken the first steps to converting to biofuels.
The pilots were invited by Morocco to touchdown on their soil to coincide with the launch of work on the construction of major solar project in the Moroccan desert. The solar-thermal power plant near to Ouarzazate will have a capacity of 160 megawatts and is part of a solar complex, which by 2015 will generate a total of 500 megawatts.
“We didn’t have a moment’s hesitation in accepting the idea of working with Morocco,” André Borschberg said in statement.
He said the flight would allow his team to gather vital experience ahead of their round-the-world attempt.
“This destination corresponds fully with the goals we had set ourselves, in terms of distance and flight duration. Flying as far as this, powered only by solar energy will be excellent training,” he said.
This post was written by Paul Willis and originally appeared on EarthTechling.
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