Solar Impulse 2 breaks records
July 2, 2015
Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, who are currently attempting to fly from Japan to Hawaii, have smashed all world records for solar aviation with their solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2.
In the cockpit, Andre Borschberg has also eclipsed the overarching record for undertaking the longest solo flight ever by remaining airborne for three consecutive days.
Flying for 80 hours, 5,663 kilometers (3,518 miles), their accomplishment exceeds American adventurer Steve Fossett's flight in 2006 where he stayed airborne for 76 hours - in a plane with a single jet engine.
"Can you imagine that a solar powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane!" Bertrand Piccard said. "This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible goals!"
Borschberg sleeps for only 20 minutes at a time in order to maintain control of the aircraft. He cannot move from his seat, which has a built in toilet.
The experimental aircraft, powered entirely by the sun, left Japan around 1800 UTC Sunday and, should everything go to plan, is intended to fly approximately 120 hours in total before landing in Honolulu.
Borschberg is completely alone and self-reliant in the 3.8 cubic meter (134-cubic-foot) unpressurized, unheated aircraft. In order to breathe, the pilot must use oxygen tanks as he flies at altitudes of more than 9,000 meters (29,500 feet).
The project set off from Abu Dhabi earlier this year attempting to circumnavigate the globe without using fuel.
Solar Impulse 2 has 17,000 solar cells and rechargeable lithium batteries which allows it to fly through the night.
The aircraft has a wingspan greater than that of a jumbo jet, but weighs only 2.3 tons (4,600 pounds) – about the same weight as a car.
If the flight to Hawaii is successful, Bertrand Piccard will continue on to the southwestern US city of Phoenix. The two explorers, who have flown alternatively in the single-seater cockpit, will have flown across the US, the Atlantic and back to Abu Dhabi where the journey began on March 9.