Solar Impulse, the Aircraft Specially Engineered to Fly Totally on Solar Power

Right now, somewhere far above you (wherever you are), a solar-powered plane is in flight, tracking through the kilometers as it pursues a round-the-world flight. That's the theory, at least. What's actually happening this week is a flight simulation in Geneva.

The plane in question is the Solar Impulse, a massive aircraft that been specially engineered to fly totally on solar power. The one-person plane is scheduled for that circumnavigation in 2011, piloted by its designer, Bertrand Piccard. The flight will be divided into five legs: Persian Gulf to China, China to Hawaii, Hawaii to Florida, Florida to Spain, and Spain back to the Persian Gulf.


The simulation is going on now, at Geneva International Airport, where a team of experts and their trusty computers are crunching through a seemingly endless series of numbers and algorithms to determine whether the plane will be able to store enough energy in its photovoltaic cells to enable the plane to succeed in its mission. The leg being simulated is Hawaii to Florida. Results should be available by the weekend. Further tests will no doubt take place in the next few years.




Written by Jeff Strickler
Published in Other Tech