<![CDATA[Project Avalon Community Forum - Power & Transport]]> http://projectavalon.net/forum4/ en Sun, 19 May 2013 04:05:23 GMT vBulletin 30 http://projectavalon.net/forum4/images/misc/rss.png <![CDATA[Project Avalon Community Forum - Power & Transport]]> http://projectavalon.net/forum4/ Solar Impulse plane starts bid to cross US 2013 http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?58848-Solar-Impulse-plane-starts-bid-to-cross-US-2013&goto=newpost Fri, 03 May 2013 19:54:27 GMT pbHZ45UAbq0 Image: http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.44.2/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png 3 May 2013 Last updated at...



3 May 2013 Last updated at 14:21

Solar Impulse plane starts bid to cross USSolar Impulse takes off from Moffett Field
Solar Impulse took off from Moffett Field just as the Sun was coming up


A plane powered only by the Sun has set off from San Francisco on the first leg of a
bid to cross the US with no fuel.The Solar Impulse craft will stop in Phoenix, Dallas,
St Louis, Washington DC and New York in the coming weeks.The team's plane has
the same wingspan as an Airbus A340 but weighs only as much as an average car.
It has already made a day-and-night flight lasting more than 26 hours, and the
team aims to eventually circumnavigate the globe in 2015.

The plane took off from Moffett Field on the edge of San Francisco Bay at 06:12
local time (13:12 GMT). It should take about 19 hours to complete the first leg of
the American crossing to Phoenix.

The craft's wings and stabiliser are covered with nearly 12,000 solar cells, which in
daylight hours charge an array of lithium-ion batteries in gondolas that hang below
the wing. Together, these provide power to the plane's four electric motors and
allow flight in daylight and night conditions.





The Solar Impulse HB-SIA
Solar impulse plane infographic



Wingspan - 63m (208ft)
Weight - 1,600kg (3,500lb)
Covered with 11,628 solar cells
Carries 400kg (900lb) of lithium-ion batteries
Maximum cruising altitude of 8,500m (28,000ft)

The HB-SIA craft is being piloted by Bertrand Piccard, a co-founder of the effort,
who is perhaps best known for being the first person to circumnavigate the globe in
a hot-air balloon, in 1999.The trans-America bid is the first attempt of its kind with
a zero-fuel aircraft.Together with co-founder and entrepreneur Andre Borschberg,
the pair of Swiss pilots have racked up a number of world records and milestones in
recent years.

The first night flight of a solar-powered craft in 2010 was followed by a first
international flight in 2011, and first inter-continental flight in 2012.
The two will share the job of flying the plane between each of the stops of the tour.
Mr Borschberg said that the atmosphere was "extremely good" ahead of the launch.
"We've peen preparing for this flight since last summer, so we are all very excited,"
he told BBC News.The current aircraft HB-SIA is effectively the prototype for the
craft that will eventually be used for transoceanic flights and the round-the-world
trip. The HB-SIB should be completed by the end of 2013.

"You should see this like being in 1915 when the pioneers were trying to do these
first cross-country flights - still unable to cross the ocean, but an important step for
the development of aviation," Mr Borschberg said.The launch on Friday is to serve
as the start of the pair's Clean Generation Initiative, an effort to encourage policy-
makers and businesses to develop and adopt sustainable energy technologies.

"We want to show that with clean technologies, a passionate team and a far-
reaching pioneering vision, one can achieve the impossible," Dr Piccard said at the
announcement of the mission in March.Solar Impulse plane over San Francisco The
craft has been making test flights in recent weeks over the San Francisco Bay area


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22369680


Solar Impulse Across America 2013



Published on 27 Feb 2013


Solar Impulse is an innovative project leveraging technological prowess and the
spirit of adventure by means of an airplane. It was launched in 2003 by a visionary
and an entrepreneur, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, challenging common
certitudes and making room for a glimpse into a more sustainable future.

The project's raison d'être is to spread a message by flying in the skies powered
solely by solar energy. Having completed its first 26-hour flight through the night in
2010 and the world's first intercontinental flight connecting Europe to Africa in 2012
, Solar Impulse's HB-SIA prototype is eager to participate in a new challenge: the
celebrated coast-to-coast crossing of the United States, San Francisco to
Washington D.C. and New York City. Originally unplanned, the perfect opportunity
for this new adventure emerged after the decision to rebuild Solar Impulse's second
generation aircraft's wing spar.

This year's Across America mission is scheduled to kick-off starting May 1st, flying
from San Francisco to the nation's Capital and the Big Apple, with 2-3 stopovers on
the way.The project's ultimate goal is to fly around the world in 2015 with the
second prototype aircraft, HB-SIB. Eleven percent larger, HB-SIB is designed to
cross Oceans and more humid climates from east to west in the northern
hemisphere. ]]> Cidersomerset http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?58848-Solar-Impulse-plane-starts-bid-to-cross-US-2013