The concept of a solar-powered aircraft is nothing new. In fact, the first official flight took place more than 40 years ago, but technology has advanced so much that the possibility of a plane capable of staying aloft almost indefinitely is now being considered. The next big challenge for solar aircraft is to circle the world, and that is exactly what the Solar Impulse 2 is attempting, having departed from Abu Dhabi yesterday.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people were waiting for Charles Lindbergh when he arrived at Le Bourget airfield on May 21, 1927. This American airmail pilot changed the world of aviation forever after linking New York and Paris in a nonstop flight that lasted over 33 hours. Nearly 90 years later, aviation records belong not only to humans but also to machines. One of those machines is the Solar Impulse, a solar aircraft whose development began in 2003. Its first official flight was on June 26, 2009, and since then, the press has closely followed the activities of this formidable aircraft. It flew from Belgium to France, connected Spain with Morocco in a 19-hour flight, and then crossed the United States from coast to coast. However, these are just the achievements of its first version. The Solar Impulse 2 has an even more ambitious plan: to circle the world.
In total, the world flight of the Solar Impulse 2 will have twelve stops. Its adventure began in Abu Dhabi, and it landed in Muscat thirteen hours later. The average speed on that flight was 53 kilometers per hour, and it is expected to maintain similar values to save energy, especially during its night flights. The next stopovers will take it to India, Myanmar, China, and the United States, then to Morocco or southern Europe (that leg has not yet been determined), and finally close the trip with its return to Abu Dhabi. The technical data of the Solar Impulse 2 describes an aircraft weighing 2,300 kilograms, with a wingspan of 71.9 meters, necessary to carry the 17,248 photovoltaic cells that power its four lithium batteries (more than 600 kilograms) and its four electric motors.
To close, the Solar Impulse 2 has a 35,000-kilometer odyssey ahead, including a five-day flight over the Pacific. As expected, the official pilots of the Solar Impulse 2 are the founders of the project, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard. Both emphasized that the barriers to overcome during their flight are not only human and technical, but also climatological and administrative (after all, the aircraft will visit seven different countries). We wish them the best and hope that next July we can talk about a new world record.
