Flying Without Fuel: Solar Impulse
On the 2nd of August, 2016, a plane touched down at an airport in Abu Dhabi. The same plane last took off from this particular airport in March 2015. Since then it has been flying around the world, one stretch at a time. It doesn’t sound too remarkable apart from the fact that this plane, the Solar Impulse Mk 2, made the trip without a drop of fuel.
The Solar Impulse 2 is powered by lithium polymer batteries which, in turn, are powered by over 17,000 solar panels mounted on the plane’s magnificent wingspan. The wingspan measures just over 70 meters, making the plane pretty imposing. However, it can only transport two people at a time, and the entire craft only weighs around two tons. This is because it is made out of lightweight carbon fibre in order to allow the sustainably-powered vehicle to stay in the air with a cruising speed just over 140km/h. To put it lightly, this aircraft only barely flies.
The Men Behind The Machine
Who would perform such a stunt, and for what purpose? Solar Impulse 2 is owned by the Solar Impulse organization, headed by two men who aspire to make a significant difference to our planet by promoting clean fuel and sustainable energy consumption. The Chairman of the organization is Bertrand Piccard, who comes from a family with a long line of famous adventurers and scientists. The man with the money behind the enterprise is Andre Borschberg, aviator and entrepreneur. Both men were the pilots on the Solar Impulse 2, taking turns behind the controls during portions of the journey that took as long as four days to complete. Starting and ending in Abu Dhabi, the journey took them to stopovers in India, China, Japan, USA, Spain and Egypt.
Of course, two men could not fund this trip on their own, but they were not short of partners and sponsors, with the likes of petrochemical giants Solvay, and Omega watch brand assisting in the project. The flight also required many thousands of hours of dedication and hard work by a team of the world’s most talented aviation engineers and scientists. Thanks to this amazing coalition, the Solar Impulse 2 has proven to the world that a clean future is definitely a possibility.
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