"Solar impulse" successfully completed the flight Phoenix-Dallas (1541 km)

On Habré, more than once or twice the news was published about the Swiss project of the “solar” aircraft Solar Impulse , which receives energy from photovoltaic cells. This plane has already broken quite a few records, and literally tonight it became known about the successful completion of the flight on the Phoenix-Dallas route.

The total length of the path of the aircraft was 1541 kilometers, with a maximum height of about 8,200 meters. The speed of the aircraft, as one might expect, is small — only 84 kilometers per hour (of course, this is not a jet plane). The entire journey was completed in 18 hours, so the pilot had a hard time, since there was simply no autopilot on this plane.
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The weight of the "solar" aircraft is 1.6 tons, which is nothing compared to the same A340, whose weight is 370 tons. To obtain sufficient energy, the aircraft hull, its wings and the stabilizer are covered with photocells, the number of which reaches 12 thousand. Battery weight - 400 kilograms, Li-ion battery is needed for the accumulation of energy during the day, so you can move at night.



According to the developers, the pilot of such an aircraft can be in the air for as long as it wishes, since there is no need to descend to refuel. Of course, the pilot is tired, he needs food, there are other needs. Therefore, so far, the maximum record of airborne aboard this aircraft is 26 hours. The record was set by the pilot (and one of the project’s founders) Andre Borshberg, this time the plane was piloted by Bertrand Picard.

In 2015, the Solar Impulse is scheduled to make a world tour. Probably, the flight will be a landmark, with intermediate landings for the rest of the pilots. But for this class of aircraft (and for many other types of aircraft), the world tour is a very significant achievement.



Via bbc