On March 9th the attempt to fly around the world in a solar powered airplane began. The Solar Impulse 2 spread its solar powered wings flying from Abu Dhabi to Oman after completing a long twelve hour flight. The plane is a larger than normal plane modeled after the first Solar Impulse prototype that took off five years ago after being unveiled in 2009. The prototype only seated one pilot, like the plane currently flying. Pilots will alternate between legs of the flight in order to rest. The original pilot, CEO, and co-founder, Andre Borschberg, flew Solar impulse 1 across the United States in a 1,386 mile journey. That journey gave him the record in solar powered flights.
The wings of the plane Solar Impulse 2 are primarily covered in solar panels with a wing span of 72 meters long. Equipped with 17,248 solar panels, the plane is expected to complete its journey successfully. The lightweight airplane has been compared to the weight of a mid-sized truck, weighing at only 5,070.63 pounds.
The Solar Impulse project is led by Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard. The plane is supposed to be the first solar powered plane to travel around the world. The journey is expected to take over five months. The pilots have both been preparing physically and mentally taking part in self hypnosis and yoga. Both pilots are faced with challenges of sleep deprivation during some legs of their journey. The entire flight is estimated to take about 25 days flying through possibly dangerous conditions. The pilots will even have specially formulated meals to eat during flight designed to keep up their required nutrition and to have them stay awake longer.
The flight from Abu Dhabi to Oman took a little over twelve hours due to high wind speeds of 11 knots. The pilots were forced to remain in air until winds died down and safety conditions were checked.
The plane will soon be resting in China for a month until days become longer and filled with more sunlight so the plane can capture its energy. The path over the Atlantic Ocean is yet to be determined. The plane will travel an estimated total of 21747.992 miles in its journey around the world.
Each stop on the journey is referred to as a leg in this trek, there will be twelve total. The longest leg is 5281.655 from Nanjing, China to Hawaii. This trip will require a single pilot to fly entirely alone for five days and nights without rest. That single trip will defeat previous records held. Both pilots are expected to fly 500 hours each.
The purpose of the flight is to promote and prove green energy after being disregarded by the aviation community.
