Engineering news
André Borschberg, CEO, co-founder and pilot of Solar Impulse in the cockpit while flying towards Hawaii
Solar Impulse 2, the airplane of Swiss explorers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, has broken all distance and duration world records for solar aviation (80 hour and 5663km) while attempting the first round the world solar flight.
Borschberg, co-founder, CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse, is also set to break a further record of achieving the longest non-stop solo flight. He is currently embarking on an 80 hour journey above the Pacific Ocean without refuelling between Nagoya, Japan and Hawaii.
Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) has so far accomplished 73% of its flight to Hawaii and is intended to fly approximately 120 hours in total before landing in Honolulu. If successful, this will exceed the record held by American adventurer Steve Fossett's flight on board Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, who, in 2006, achieved a 76 hours non stop flight to circumnavigate the globe.
The lightweight Si2, a larger version of a single-seat prototype that first flew five years ago, is made of carbon fibre and weights just 2,300 kg – equivalent to a standard family car. The 17,248 solar cells built into its fuselage supply the sole power for the four electric motors (17.5hp each) that can take the plane to speeds between 30 and 60mph. Conditions flying the plane have been challenging for the two pilots, who have taken it in turns to fly different legs of the journey in an unheated, unpressurised, 3.8m3 cockpit.
Borschberg said: "The first 24 hours were very technical but the second day was really getting me into the mission. It took me a while to create a relationship of trust with the airplane, which allows me to rest and eventually sleep by periods of 20 minutes with the autopilot. The experience of flight is so intense that I can only focus on the present moment and discover how to deal with my own energy and mindset."
If Borschberg's flight is successful, Piccard will then continue the ocean crossing to Phoenix, Arizona. The journey will then take the two explorers, flying alternatively in the single seater cockpit, across the USA, the Atlantic and back to Abu Dhabi where the journey started 9 March.