The plane flies without fuel already – Republic

AFP

The machine powered only by solar energy embarked on a historic journey around the world.

The Solar Impulse 2 took several minutes after 7 am (local time) from the airport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The machine was set off on Saturday, but those plans thwarted a strong wind.

View photos At the controls of the aircraft sat seater André Borschberg, an entrepreneur, and a fighter pilot. Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard is the initiator of the project airplane travel around the globe without a gram of fuel.

The pilots traveling around the world will change. Piccard, though not a professional pilot is an experienced flier, holds several records. As the first man in 1999 fell off the Earth balloon.

The pilots want to popularize the idea of ​​replacing old polluting technology with clean and efficient.

– We demonstrate something that seemed impossible to achieve using only renewable energy and clean technology – Bernard Piccard said. – 100 years ago the Wright brothers had many critics, who claimed that the plane was made of wood and fabric has no future. Then there were those who claimed that there will be carrying passengers over the oceans. Well, today we can see what happened.

The first stage of the plan a trip around the world without fuel assumed that he will end up landing in Muscat in Oman after about 10-12 hours in the air. Solar Impulse 2 is a larger version of the prototype that maiden flight took place five years ago. First Solar Impulse was quite innovative technology, proven in flight over continents and seas.

In 2010, André Borschbergiem at the controls, the plane was in the air 26 hours and proved that he can fly, even if when the energy is derived exclusively from the battery. The machine broke seven world records including height, distance and length of the flight without the use of fuel.

His successor Solar Impulse 2 was constructed using carbon fiber. Have been placed on the wings of a new generation of solar panels – thinner and more efficient. Aircraft construction was completed in April last. Year and a two-hour maiden flight took place in June.

The pilots practiced in the simulator. Perfected the ability to control the machine, strengthened resistance to fatigue. In the simulator sessions lasting several hours included learning meditation techniques and sleep polifazowego. One of the programs envisaged flight exercises five days sleeping a total of two hours a day, divided into 20-minute periods.

When you reach the next goal will be Oman India. There are provided two stops. Then the plane will fly to China and Burma. The next step will be to jump over the Pacific and landing in Hawaii, USA. Later destination is Phoenix, Arizona, and the largest airport in New York – harbor them. John F. Kennedy.

Travel Solar Impulse 2 will take several months. The biggest challenge will be episodes over the oceans. Will require pilots from the machine and five or six days at the controls.

– Over the Pacific will be an easy decision. Window when they are the best conditions, you will be May 2 – BBC News said Raymond Clerc, the director of the program. – But waiting for the right conditions over the Atlantic can take up to 30 days.

The route across the Atlantic will depend on the weather, and weather conditions will determine whether the goal to become the airport in southern Europe, for example. Seville in Spain, or a port in Morocco. The final step will be to Abu Dhabi, where the plane will arrive in July or August.

Borschberg and Piccard want to put pressure on politicians, celebrities and citizens and demonstrate support for the agreement, which is expected in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015 years in Paris.