It has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 but weighs less than a small car. And it is powered entirely by the sun.
Adventurer Bertrand Piccard on Friday unveiled the Solar Impulse, which, with its sleek white wings and pink trimming, aims to make history as the prototype for a solar-powered flight around the world.
“Yesterday it was a dream, today it is an airplane, tomorrow it will be an ambassador of renewable energies,” said Piccard, who in 1999 copiloted the first round-the-globe nonstop balloon flight.
The plane will take part in a series of test flights over the next two years, and based on the results, a new plane will be constructed for the big takeoff, in 2012.
In a swank ceremony at a military airfield near Zurich, Piccard and co-pilot Andre Borschberg hugged as the curtain was pulled back to give the public its first glimpse of the plane. Numerous dignitaries were in attendance, including Prince Albert of Monaco and major sponsors.
The budget for the project is US$98 million, Piccard said.
He and Borschberg said the plane would fly day and night using almost 12,000 solar cells, rechargeable lithium batteries and four electric motors. It will not use an ounce of fuel.
But the maiden flight around the planet will take time.
With the engines providing only 40 horsepower, the plane will fly almost like a scooter in the sky. It will take off at the pedestrian pace of 35kph, accelerating at altitude to an average flight speed of 70kph.
Unlike the nonstop balloon trip, the solar flight will have to make stops to allow for pilots to switch over and stretch after long periods in the cramped cockpit.
“You can see it’s really small,” Borschberg said. “Thirty-six hours is already a challenge. It tests your patience.”
The first test flights will be later this year, with a complete night voyage planned for next year.
Solar plane technology is reminiscent of the early days of manned flight.
“It will be like the Wright brothers,” said the 51-year-old Piccard, who comes from a long line of adventurers.
His late father Jacques plunged deeper beneath the ocean than any other man, and grandfather Auguste was the first man to take a balloon into the stratosphere.
“We will start 1 meter above the ground, then 3 meters, then 5 meters,” he said. “When that works, we’ll be able to take it to altitude.”
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