Abu Dhabi: Solar Impulse 2, the firstSolar Impulse 2, the first solar plane that started circumnavigating the globe from Abu Dhabi, has started its pacific crossing late on Saturday [around 10.40pm UAE time] that will make a landmark in the history of aviation.
The flight with CEO of Solar Impulse André Borschberg in the cockpit took off from the Chinese city of Nanjing at around 2.40am local time on Sunday. The plane will fly for five consecutive days and nights across the Pacific from Nanjing in China to Hawaii in the US without a drop of fossil fuel.
This first oceanic crossing of the solar flight will last around 130 hours. Solar Impulse team calls this leg of the mission “the moment of truth” as it will be an historic milestone in aviation as the longest flight for a single pilot airplane in duration, ever flown with any type of airplane.
The round-the-world flight started from Abu Dhabi on March 9 landed in the Chinese City of Nanjing in its sixth leg on April 21 has been waiting for favourable weather to start the pacific crossing. The planned departure was cancelled at least twice due to bad weather.
The pacific crossing will be the most challenging leg of the plane’s round-the-world trip, which has already created suspense and emotions among enthusiasts of adventure, science and technology, and clean energy.
The pilot of the single-seater aircraft will be exposed to extreme conditions during the non-stop flight while living in the confinement of a 3.8m3 cockpit. He will be facing many human, technical and operational challenges, which have been carefully researched, developed and simulated.
The world will be watching how the pilot will live in the small cockpit for five days in a row and how he will operate the plane and interact with the team on the ground. He must stay alert throughout the crossing of the Pacific.
From Hawaii, Bertrand Piccard, initiator and chairman of Solar Impuse, will take the commands and fly to Phoenix, Arizona.
The plane will further stop in New York, Northern Africa or Southern Europe before attempting to return to Abu Dhabi after flying 35,000 kilometres around the globe accumulating 500 flight hours over five months to spread the message that clean technologies can achieve the impossible.
The challenging flight requires the optimisation of new technologies and a drastic reduction in energy consumption. The Solar Impulse’s team of 80 engineers and technicians have had to apply highly innovative solutions to make this happen. As a result, the plane is a real airborne technology lab with virtually endless endurance – a feat that has been perceived as impossible by industry experts.
During the day, the plane will collect a maximum of energy from the sun allowing it to climb up to 28,000 feet (8,500 metres ) while simultaneously storing energy in the batteries. When it reaches the maximum flying altitude of 28,000 feet at the end of the day, the batteries are full. At sunset, the pilot will switch off the solar generator and start to descend.
solar plane that started circumnavigating the globe from Abu Dhabi, was scheduled to start its Pacific crossing late on Saturday that will make a landmark in the history of aviation.
André Borschberg, CEO of Solar Impulse, will fly for five consecutive days and nights across the Pacific from Nanjing in China to Hawaii in the US without a drop of fossil fuel.
This first oceanic crossing of the solar flight will last around 130 hours. The Solar Impulse team calls this leg of the mission “the moment of truth” as it will be a historic milestone in aviation as the longest flight for a single pilot aeroplane ever flown with any type of aeroplane.
The round-the-world flight started from Abu Dhabi on March 9, landed in the Chinese city of Nanjing in its sixth leg on April 21 and has been waiting for favourable weather to start the Pacific crossing. The planned departure was cancelled at least twice due to bad weather.
The Pacific crossing will be the most challenging leg of the plane’s round-the-world trip, which has already created suspense and emotions among enthusiasts of adventure, science and technology and clean energy.
The pilot of the single-seater aircraft will be exposed to extreme conditions during the non-stop flight while living in the confinement of a 3.8 cubic metre cockpit. He will face many human, technical and operational challenges, which have been carefully researched, developed and simulated.
The world will be watching how the pilot lives in the small cockpit for five days in a row and how he operates the plane and interacts with the team on the ground. He must stay alert throughout the crossing of the Pacific.
From Hawaii, Bertrand Piccard, initiator and chairman of Solar Impuse, will take command and fly to Phoenix, Arizona.
The plane will stop later in New York, Northern Africa or Southern Europe before attempting to return to Abu Dhabi after flying 35,000 kilometres around the globe accumulating 500 flight hours over five months to spread the message that clean technologies can achieve the impossible.
The challenging flight requires the optimisation of new technologies and a drastic reduction in energy consumption. The Solar Impulse’s team of 80 engineers and technicians have had to apply highly innovative solutions to make this happen. As a result, the plane is a real airborne technology lab with virtually endless endurance — a feat that has been perceived as impossible by industry experts.
During the day, the plane will collect a maximum of energy from the sun allowing it to climb up to 28,000 feet (8,500 metres) while simultaneously storing energy in the batteries. When it reaches the maximum flying altitude of 28,000 feet at the end of the day, the batteries are full. At sunset, the pilot will switch off the solar generator and start to descend.
