The sun kings out to conquer the world (flying around the world on solar power)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article2791505.ece

From The Sunday Times
November 4, 2007

The sun kings out to conquer the world

Two pilots planning to be the first to fly round the globe in a solar-powered plane tell how the trek may herald a greener future for aviation

Pat Malone

Tomorrow morning at a military airport near Zurich, two Swiss adventurers will reveal a prototype for a solar-powered aircraft they hope will be the first to fly around the globe in 2011.

The £42m Solar Impulse is one of the most ambitious aviation projects of recent times and could revolutionise air travel.

Instead of using conventional aircraft fuel it will have ultra-thin solar cells integrated into the wings, which will be used to collect sunlight and convert it into energy to power the four electric motors. By storing energy the plane will be able to fly at night.

When the final version is built, the plane will measure about 262ft from wing tip to wing tip, giving it a similar wingspan to that of the new A380 superjumbo, which made its maiden flight last month.

But that’s where the similarity ends – while the superjumbo can carry more than 800 passengers and has a top speed of more than 560mph, the Solar Impulse will have room for just one person in its small cockpit, and will reach only about 40mph, at which speed a round-the-world flight will take about four weeks.

The project represents potentially the biggest landmark in aviation in the past three decades. In the early years of flight, records fell thick and fast. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh became the first person to make a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic.

Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947. In the past 30 years, though, the pace of advancement in aviation has slowed. By following the footsteps of the early pioneers, Andr� Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, the plane’s two pilots, hope to push the envelope once more.

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