Solar Impulse : round the world without a single drop of fuel

[snoop1130]

Solar Impulse : round the world without a single drop of fuel

by Raphaelle Nicolet

 

 

Flying… humans have always been obsessed with flying. Icarus, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Mongolfier Brothers, the Wright Brothers and many others have paved the path to aviation as we know it today. It is now an integral part of our every day lives. However, human kind is now facing a huge challenge: starting to respect its mother, the one who is providing it with everything it needs to survive: water, food, air. The earth is under serious threat and it is time to save it. This ambitious goal is attainable, but adaptation and innovation are highly needed. Amongst the changes that will have to be done, one is fundamental: the switch to clean technologies. The good news is that it is not impossible! This was Solar Impulse’s goal to show it to the world. Our motto was: Future is clean and we were determined to prove it.

 

But what is exactly Solar Impulse ?

It is an ambitious project, developed in Switzerland by two pioneers and their team, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. Bertrand Piccard a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist who comes from a famous family of adventurers. Flashback to March 1999, together with Brian Jones he completed a non-stop tour of the globe in a balloon called Breitling Orbiter 3. Encouraged by his success and concerned about the need to raise environmental awareness the journey of Solar Impulse began. Bertrand Piccard was joined 4 years later by André Borschberg, an aviation lover. Former pilot in the Swiss Air Army, helicopter pilot, engineer in mechanics and thermodynamics. Enthusiastic about the project he began to develop it alongside Bertrand Piccard.

 

Fast forward to 2009, the year that saw the first plane driven by solar energy born and named Solar Impulse 1, HB-SIA. This plane flew to various countries, namely Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco and the United States. The duration of the flights performed by HB-SIA was between 14 and 22 hours. If you want to see this plane, it has been bought by Solvay, one of the main and faithful sponsors and is on show at La Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris.Five years after its first success, in 2014, the second plane arrived, Solar Impulse 2, HB-SIB. Unlike its predecessor this one had been built for nothing less than performing the first round the world without using a single drop of fuel. This crazy and exclusive experience would start in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of 2015.

 

A few impressive technical facts

 

Before going any further, I would like to give you a few impressive technical facts regarding Solar Impulse. First of all, its wingspan is 72 metres (236 feet) and only the pilot fits in the cockpit, with no space for a passenger. By contrast, think about a big Boeing 747. This plane is impressively big and can carry up to 660 passengers. But, its wingspan is still ‘only’… 68 metres (224 feet). If you compare the two planes, you realise how impressive Solar Impulse’s wingspan is. It’s shape looks pretty much like a glider. Beside its size, HB-SIB was also incredibly light. Think a minute about the pickups we see everywhere here in Thailand. Their weight is around 2080kg (4576lbs). Now, guess the weight of the solar plane… you won’t believe it, but it was only 2300kg (5060lbs)! The carbon fibre used to build it is incredibly light and yet very strong. The cruising speed is quite slow – it doesn’t fly faster than 50-100km/h (30mph to 60mph, 25 KIAS-35 KIAS). Solar Impulse may not be fast but, it is important to remember that it represents a major technological advancement, that has yet to be improved. Like every invention, it starts with the emergence of technology that will evolve and become more efficient with time. In order to generate enough power to fly, Solar Impulse uses no less than 17,248 solar cells spread on the wings and fuselage.

 

Operating mode

 

So how does this revolutionary plane work in simple terms? Solar energy works non-stop through the following process. As the solar energy feeds through the cells it is then distributed to the batteries via an inverter thus producing power to charge the engines. All of this, without even using a single drop of fuel! Solar Impulse 2 was flying up to the maximum altitude of 8,500-9,000 metres (27,887-29,527 feet). As the plane gained altitude, it used the energy driven directly from the solar cells while at the same time storing energy in the batteries.  The motors were then turned off and the plane would glide, going down to 1,500 metres (4,921 feet). During this 4 hour stage, no energy was used. Finally, the motors were turned on again using the energy stored during the day. At the first sign of daylight the process would start all over again. The first time I saw this beautiful bird flying, I was surprised at its silence. We are not used to seeing silent planes. This was something completely foreign to me yet it amazed me at the same time.

The round the world

Now that you know a little more about the technical characteristics of the plane, allow me to move on to round the world trip itself. The journey started in Abu Dhabi. The entire team was about to face a huge challenge of never, before seen events and we had to be ready. Flight tests, training on the mobile hangar, used to store the plane daily, solar charges, everything had to be executed to ensure the odds were on our side. As you can imagine, the logistics on the project were immense and nothing was left to chance. For example, as HB-SIB was so huge, we didn’t have hangars big enough all around the world to store the plane. Therefore, we had a special mobile hangar, developed by an Italian company in the balloon field, to protect the plane. Erecting it took us around 8 hours, dismantling it, around 12 hours. We would monitor it 24/7 to ensure it did not deflate and was well secured, in the event of strong winds.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/solar-impulse-round-the-world-without-a-single-drop-of-fuel/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Mitker]

Considering the urgency the climate crisis dictates, it is inspiring to see such a promising project: beauty and accomplishment combined to remind us solutions do exist today for virtually each challenge we face

It depends on each of us at his level

 

Congratulations to them

[natway09]

Wonderful concept, fantastic that they made it but there is little to be learned really

Weight ratios capital cost. fraility make it just a gimmick

[Chazar]

1 hour ago, Mitker said:

Considering the urgency the climate crisis dictates, it is inspiring to see such a promising project: beauty and accomplishment combined to remind us solutions do exist today for virtually each challenge we face

It depends on each of us at his level

 

Congratulations to them

yeah im sure  it'll easily  scale  up to carry 3-400 people  8000  miles..................nah!

[tyga]

that is what they said about the Wright Brother's flier and 30 years later they had the big flying boats and 20 years after that the 707!

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

yeah im sure  it'll easily  scale  up to carry 3-400 people  8000  miles..................nah!

 

[DoktorC]

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

yeah im sure  it'll easily  scale  up to carry 3-400 people  8000  miles..................nah!

 

It's a good thing that others had more imagination than you!!!!   Yeah!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by DoktorC