Solar plane completes flight
The use of renewable energy continues to become more imaginative: a solar powered plane has just completed the second leg of an innovative flight.
The use of renewable energy continues to become more imaginative: a solar powered plane has just completed the second leg of an innovative flight.
The Solar Impulse landed in Rabat just 19 hours after leaving Madrid, completing a 2,500 kilometre journey that began in Switzerland in May.
The plane was powered by 12,000 solar cells, which turned four electrical motors. The vehicle is made of carbon fibre, is the size of a jumbo jet, but weighs only as much as an average family car.
The jet was flown by Pilot Betrand Piccard, who tweeted throughout his journey, at one point describing a “great feeling” of gliding across southern European skies with solar-powered engines.
The Solar Impulse was launched in 2003, and broke records in 2010 when it was the first solar plane to complete a 26 hour nonstop flight. This flight proved that solar energy is enough to keep a plane in air, even at night.
The plane’s latest triumph is seen as a rehearsal for a round the world tour of an improved Solar Impulse model in 2014.
Image: The Solar Impulse | flickr WiserEarthFlickr
