14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, the Solar Impulse team introduced the world to a sun-powered plane that is expected to embark on – hopefully also complete – a round-the-world flight sometime next year.
Media reports say that the state-of-the-art aircraft made its public debut during a ceremony held in Payerne, Switzerland. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries, industry officials, and members of the press.
The solar-powered plane, a picture of which is available above, is dubbed Solar Impulse 2, and it is the younger “sibling” of the aircraft that the Solar Impulse team flew across Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and the United States.
When compared to the first sun-powered aircraft that the Solar Impulse team worked on, the plane unveiled yesterday in Switzerland is considerably bigger. Thus, its wingspan is one of 72 meters (236 feet), i.e. 8 meters (26.3 feet) more than its predecessor.
Besides, the Solar Impulse 2 is said to weigh about 2,300 kilograms (5,070 pounds), Business Green informs. By comparison, the solar-powered aircraft that got to fly across the United States had a weight of 1,600 kilograms (3,527 pounds).
Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, i.e. the team behind the Solar Impulse project, say that, should things go according to plan, their new sun-powered plane will embark on its round-the-world journey sometime in next year's March.
While on this quest, the aircraft will not use any fuel to remain airborne. On the contrary, it is to be powered entirely be the roughly 17,000 solar cells that are fitted onto its wings. The aircraft also packs several batteries that the Solar Impulse team says will serve to store energy and support night flights.
“When Solar Impulse was born 12 years ago, and we could show the enormous wings and the light weight of its structure on computer designs, all the specialists in the world of aviation started to laugh. Today, this airplane exists. It's the most incredible airplane of its time,” Bertrand Piccard said in a speech at the unveiling ceremony, as cited by Live Science.
The Solar Impulse team expects that the new sun-powered aircraft will begin test flights sometime this coming May. These tests flights will be followed by training journeys in Switzerland, and, if all goes well, the plane will be given the green light to fly around the world.
According to the Solar Impulse team, this round-the-world trip will begin in the Gulf area, and will take the plane over the Arabian Sea, India, Burma, China, the Pacific Ocean, the United States, the Atlantic Ocean and Southern Europe or North Africa.