PAYERNE (Switzerland): Pioneering Swiss solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse ambled over Europe on Friday on its first international flight, with its developers reporting no problems.“Everything is going fine,” said Solar Impulse company spokeswoman Alexandra Gindroz as the dragonfly-like aircraft pushed cruising speeds close to 40 kilometres per hour.
The experimental emissions-free aircraft was planned to take about 12 hours to cover some 480 kilometres from western Switzerland to Brussels airport in Belgium, flying over France and Luxembourg at an altitude of 3,600 metres, the team said.
The single-seater, piloted by the firm’s co-founder Andre Borschberg, lifted off gently in clear blue skies from Payerne airbase at 8:40 am (0640 GMT) after being delayed by early morning mist.
Solar Impulse HB-SIA, which has the wingspan of a large airliner but weighs no more than a saloon car, made history in July 2010 as the first manned plane to fly around the clock and through the night on the sun’s energy.
It holds the endurance and altitude records for a manned solar-powered aeroplane after staying aloft for 26 hours, 10 minutes and 19 seconds above Switzerland, flying at 9,235 metres.
The high-tech plane has since flown several times, notably between Geneva and Zurich airports, but the journey to Brussels through crowded airspace is regarded as a new challenge.
“Flying an aircraft like Solar Impulse through European airspace to land at an international airport is an incredible challenge for all of us, and success depends on the support we receive from all the authorities concerned,” said Borschberg, who also piloted July’s flight.
Images and some control details were being streamed live on the Internet, but pictures were interrupted after it took off and headed north because of a surge in connections, according to a note on the Solar Impulse website.
HB-SIA relies on 12,000 solar cells on its 64-metre wings to charge the batteries that provide the energy for the 10-horsepower electric motors driving four propellers.—AFP
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