Solar Airplane; First Flight

[Karl]

From: Sustainable Business Design – June 03, 2008

Solar Impulse, a solar-powered airplane crafted by Swiss researchers, has completed its first manned flights. Pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg each completed 25-hour single-person manned flights earlier this month. The Solar Impulse uses no fuel and creates no emissions. According to their website, they plan the first night flight in 2009, the first trans-Atlantic flight in 2011, and then the first round-the-world flight.

Article Link: Sustainable Business Design: Solar Airplane Completes First Flight

Related:

TheNewsRoom | Solar-powered plane readies for flight.

Solar Impulse: Around the world with a solar airplane, flying day and night without fuel and pollution.

[Styrofoambanned]

2009? Thats really soon..watch its gonna get pushed back another 5 years.

[include]

That'd be awesome if it happens. Fingers crossed

[LMagic007]

re; Solar Impulse Great news. I think the technology may benefit the light aircraft industry sooner. Look forward to its further development. I expect a flight time of 4 to 5 hours would be more than adequate for light aviation, so they could reduce it's size considerably and also use batteries.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by LMagic007

re; Solar Impulse Great news. I think the technology may benefit the light aircraft industry sooner. Look forward to its further development. I expect a flight time of 4 to 5 hours would be more than adequate for light aviation, so they could reduce it's size considerably and also use batteries.

I don't think they have much of a choice wrt using batteries; after all, this is a solar-powered aircraft but they are planning a "night flight" in 2009...

[LMagic007]

Originally Posted by Karl

I don't think they have much of a choice wrt using batteries; after all, this is a solar-powered aircraft but they are planning a "night flight" in 2009...

Of course. I was talking about the technology being adaptable for general aviation. i.e. light aircraft, that have shorter flight times of a few hours. You would always use batteries or fuel cells etc... no matter what the configuration. General Aviation would be way too risky otherwise.

[prashamk]

Very true Lmagic, most of the green energies currently require some sort of a backup. Without proper back up it would prove to be useless. Moreover I see no harm using them.

As Lmagic sais, it can very quickly gain acceptance in small aircraft industry like private jets and similar.

What say?

[LMagic007]

I', not sure about jets, as they require fuel, but electric ducted fan engines perhaps. It could herald a new type of high performance electric engine design for aviation, even potentially getting very high RPMs, similar to a ducted fan jet. They have them in model aviation, so I can see the extension to larger aircraft. It may well become the new "electric fan jet"

[forfismum]

Anyone remember Icarus ?

[macgardener]

Ah! One of the ballooning Piccards.