Circumnavigating The World Without Fuel, Adventure and ecological mission: With the circumnavigation of the world in their solar airplane “Solar Impulse 2” Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg want to show how clean technologies can change the world.
He was already a bit excited, Bertrand Piccard told Deutsche Welle shortly before takeoff: “I still can’t believe we’re so close to our goal” and “Now we can show the world what’s possible with green energy!”
Adventure is one thing. But much more important to the two Swiss is to show that it is possible to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane that flies solely on solar energy. Both during the day and during the night.
“The plane is unique. You can fly with it for a whole week or even a month without interruption,” enthuses André Borschberg, who initiated the visionary project together with Bertrand Piccard.
The “Solar Impulse 2” (SI2) is equipped with around 17,000 solar cells and several batteries. It is powered by electric motors. The wingspan is an impressive 72 meters, which is more than a jumbo jet has. The one-person cockpit, on the other hand, is tiny. For the pilots, this is a physical as well as mental strain for which they are constantly preparing, says Borschberg: “We do sporting exercises,” Borschberg recounts, “yoga and also hypnosis and meditation to keep fit.”
The fact that the plane can fly for long periods without direct sunlight is thanks to the large lithium batteries that store the energy. “The best part is,” Borschberg says, “the longer you fly, the more energy is stored.”
To conserve energy, the plane flies only at 50 km/h at night. The pilots only head for the top speed of 140 km/h during the day. The flight altitude is up to 8500 meters, which is also the altitude at which the passenger planes of the major airlines fly.
The pilots plan to take turns in stages. André Borschberg, a former military pilot, worked with his technical team for 12 years to develop the aircraft. He will contest the first stage of the flight. Bertrand Piccard, the spiritual father of the project, will complete his vision both symbolically and practically: he plans to fly the final leg of the route and bring the plane back to Abu Dhabi in the summer of 2015.
The flight will follow the equatorial line, mostly in the northern hemisphere. In the process, the solar plane will cross two oceans and four continents. The route was carefully selected. Factors such as weather and climate played an important role in the selection. For example, the pilots want to cross China and India very early in the year, before the monsoon season begins.
The China-Hawaii leg across the Pacific is considered the most difficult. This is because the pilot needs five days and nights for the 8500-kilometer route. “It is the first time that a solar airplane with only one pilot on board will fly for such a long time over the Atlantic and Pacific,” says Piccard.
The real goal of this mission is to get people excited about green technology. This has a great future in the regions along the route, believe the two pioneers and entrepreneurs. The stopovers are intended to provide additional publicity for the new technology, not only among the population, but also and above all among politicians, Piccard hopes: “Our airplane is not only an advertisement for solar batteries, but also for green technologies in general and increasing energy efficiency.