The solar powered aircraft of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg – Solar Impulse 2 – has achieved the longest exploration leg of its Round-The-World mission, completing its trip from Japan to Hawaii. It had set three records: the world’s longest manned solar-powered flight by time and distance, and the longest non-stop solo flight.
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KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) – A plane powered by the sun’s rays has landed in Hawaii after a record-breaking five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. The plane’s wings were fixed with 17,000 solar cells, which took in energy from sun rays and charged the batteries for the night. “It’s really to show what we can do with renewable energies”.
The 8,261km flight from Nagoya, Japan to Honolulu made history as it was a feat that had never been accomplished in the world of aviation.
The next step of the journey will be from Hawaii to Phoenix.
He added: “Would you imagine that André’s flight was longer than all the other single-seater aeroplane flights who had fuel?”
Solar Impulse is a lightweight and the wingspan of the aircraft measure up to 72m.
Solar Impulse 2 began its epic journey on March 9, 2015, departing from Abu Dhabi, where it will return. Although the cruise speed is rather slow at 90 km/h, Solar Impulse is very light, weighing only around 2,300 kg, slightly more than an average automobile. His keynote speech entitled “Pushing the boundaries of solar innovation” will highlight the potential of solar energy and ways to implement renewable energy systems in the future. Few have five days to spend getting half way across the Pacific. He said, “I am also astonished”.
The Solar Impulse project is supported by several global technology companies, including ABB Inc., a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry and transport companies to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact.
At 2,077 pounds, the batteries make up a substantial amount of Solar Impulse 2’s roughly 5,000-pound weight.
Glick also pointed out that the whole mission of the Solar Impulse 2 fits in perfectly with Hawaii’s own record on drawing energy from the Sunday.
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Remarkably, once the aircraft was in the air, the flight did not run into any major problems, even with all the challenges and risks it faced while in the air. “This success fully validates the vision that my partner Bertrand Piccard had after his round-the-world balloon flight to reach unlimited endurance in an airplane without fuel”.
