CNN would have you believe that Solar Impulse could not fly at the Paris Air Show because of bad weather. Well, the truth is it did fly on Sunday and made its debut as the first solar powered plane to be flown in public. Great reporting Central News Network!
Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg have an honorable mission. Not just to show off a zero-fuel plane, but to get people thinking in this direction. Charles Lindbergh’s first flight across the Atlantic was not a passenger aircraft. The concept has to be proved and then improved.
11,000 solar cells adhered to the massive wings of the A340 allow it to fly non-stop for 26 hours. It also has onboard batteries to collect excess energy. So its not that a cloudy day will stop it, its just that it is a very delicate aircraft and fly best in near perfect windless conditions.
With the new design Solar Impulse Mark 2 they are set to make a flight around the world in 2014.
Check out their website: www.solarimpulse.com
