Airplanes consume a lot of gasoline and airplane fuel is often the most expensive and difficult to purchase because of its superior quality.
In order to ensure an alternative fuel source for flying airplanes, it is important to consider every source of energy as long as it promises a safe flight. Swiss inventors of the Solar Impulse HB-SIA claim that the flight uses solar energy and can fly all night using the energy it converts during the day.
Pilots are attempting to fly across the length and breadth of America and by 2015, they plan to fly around the world. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA has a larger wingspan than Boeing 747 and weighs less than an averaged sized car. It absorbs a lot of daylight so that it can fly at night uninterruptedly.
The trip will begin in Phoenix, Arizona and culminate at Washington D.C. or New York City. It must be an exhilarating experience to fly a plane that moves literally on solar energy.
While solar energy driven cars are common and well established, a plane that uses solar energy to fly at night is something that is totally innovative. However, the flight is vulnerable to rough weather conditions and we should only hope that nothing really happens to the pilots during their trial journeys. The Solar Impulse comes with 12,000 solar cells and has already managed to stay afloat in Switzerland for more than 26 hours.
It only remains to be seen how long it will take for manufacturers to adopt this technology so that it can be used commercially. Solar Impulse’s CEO and pilot Andre Borschberg certainly is a very courageous man and I would be very happy if his flight is a success.
You could also go ahead and take a look at the See-through Plane that we had featured earlier.
