Eco Factor: Zero-emission solar-powered airplane gets ready for night flight.
It all started with a crazy idea – flying around the world in a solar airplane without fuel. In a world depending on fossil energies, the Solar Impulse aircraft tries to break free from the barriers. After about 10 successful test flights, the Solar Impulse team is about to fly through a night.
With expertise from Altran Group, the solar-powered aircraft will take off on July 1st and land back in the early morning of July 2nd. Team members have said that they need a 25-hour window of clear and calm summer weather to attempt the pioneering round-the-clock flight over Switzerland and eastern France.
The pilot plans to keep the aircraft at altitudes of up to 8500m, storing some of the energy from solar panels in its batteries during the daylight to fly through the night before landing after dawn. With a wingspan of about 63.40 feet, the aircraft weighs about as much as a family car, about 1600kg. This enables the aircraft to fly on four 10hp electric motors.
Thanks for the tip: [Altran Group]
