|
 Solar Impulse 2 is set to take off from Abu Dhabi with stopovers
in India, Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and
flying across the United States and southern Europe to arrive back
in Abu Dhabi.
On its five-month journey of 35,000 km (22,000 miles), the engines
will be powered only by solar energy. The two Swiss pilots will take
turns at the controls in the tiny cabin for five consecutive days
and nights in the air.
"Miracles can be achieved with renewables such as solar power. We
want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop
of fuel," Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots and the project's
co-founder, told reporters on the sidelines of the World Future
Energy summit currently underway in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United
Arab Emirates.
 The plane, which has the weight of a family car (2,300 kg, 5,100
pounds) and a wingspan equal to that of the largest passenger
airliners, will take off in late February and return by late July.
Its journey will span approximately 25 flight days at speeds between
50 and 100 km (30 to 60 miles) per hour.
Feasibility studies, design and construction have taken 12 years,
said Andre Borschberg, the second pilot and co-founder.
"It is not the first solar airplane, however it is the first able to
cross oceans and continents," he said.
[to top of second column] |
Piccard said of the challenge: "It is simply the unknown. It is a
question of technical reliability, of human weather and it is the
challenge of discovery."
If something goes wrong, they will build another aircraft and
continue the journey, he said.
"There's a will in humankind to make a better world and find
solutions to climate change."
Companies involved in the project include Bayer AG, Solvay, ABB,
Schindler, Omega and Abu Dhabi's Masdar.
(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
