Solar Flight Off the Ground

The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the first airplane designed to fly day and night without fuel, left the ground for the first time in the past week, giving hope that it will be possible in the future to have solar powered, passenger-carrying aircraft flying around the world.

Dübendorf Airfield, Switzerland.(3 December 2009):

At 13:11 today, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the first airplane designed to fly day and night without fuel, left the ground for the first time.

The results of the ground tests conducted these last few weeks to verify numerous parameters (the prototype’s controllability, acceleration, braking paths and, engine power) had been overwhelming positive, thereby leading the team to give the go-ahead to Markus Scherdel, the test pilot, to take the prototype up to its take-off speed.

As the aircraft gently took up speed, the huge wing of the Solar Impulse gradually rose into the air under intense admiration of the project promoters, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. After some 350 metres of flight at an altitude of one meter, the prototype graciously landed on the centre of the runway, triggering a frenzied applause from the team.

“On the one hand I find it terrific to see a dream come true. For over ten years now, I have dreamt of a solar aircraft capable of flying day and night without fuel – and promoting renewable energy. Today, our plane took off and was airborne for the very first time. This is an unbelievable and unforgettable moment! On the other hand, I remain humble in the face of the difficult journey still to be accomplished – it’s a long way between these initial tests and a circumnavigation of the world”, commented Bertrand Piccard, initiator and President of Solar Impulse.

“This is the culmination of 6 years of intense work by a very experienced team of professionals! This first “flea hop” successfully completes the first phase of Solar Impulse, confirming our technical choices. We are now ready to start the next phase – the actual flight tests”, said Andre Borschberg, co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse.

At this stage the solar panels have not yet been connected. With the positive conclusion of this initial “flea hop”, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA will now be dismantled and transported to the airfield at Payerne (VD). Starting in early 2010 onwards, the aircraft will be making its first solar test flights, gradually increasing flight duration until it makes its first night flight using solar energy.

Source: www.solarimpulse.com

AFP Reports from Geneva (3 December 2009):

The prototype of Solar Impulse, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar power, briefly took off for the first time but under battery power, the organisers said.

The high tech single-seater with the wingspan of an Airbus A340 airliner (63.40 metres) made a controlled 400 metre (yard) flight about one metre above the runway at Duebendorf air base near the Swiss city of Zurich, said co-founders Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.

“A plane like that never flown before and it’s extraordinary… because it’s an area of flight that has been unexplored until now,” Borschberg, chief executive of Solar Impulse, told AFP.

“It was very important to see if it would rise and what way we could keep it stable,” he added.

Despite its wingspan, the aircraft only weighs 1,600 kilogrammes, about as much as a medium-sized car.

Although the prototype is fitted up for solar-powered flight, the four electric motors were powered by batteries for the occasion.

The prototype, which is slightly smaller than the craft that is expected to fly around the world, is primarily aimed at testing the cutting edge technology used to build and control the aircraft, and to fly through the night.

A first non-stop 36 hour flight through darkness is planned in Switzerland from spring 2010, with the prospect of a five stage flight around the world in 2012.

Source: www.news.yahoo.com