# Solar plane begins first flight from Europe to Africa



## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 May 2012 09.21 EDT

"*Single-seater aircraft with 207ft wingspan aims to reach Morocco via Madrid and is being seen as a trial for a round-the-world flight.*

An experimental solar-powered airplane took off from Switzerland on its first transcontinental flight on Thursday, aiming to reach North Africa next week.

Pilot Andre Borschberg will fly the jumbo jet-size Solar Impulse plane on its first leg to Madrid, Spain, by Friday. His colleague Bertrand Piccard will take the helm of the aircraft for the second stretch of its 1,554mile journey to the Moroccan capital Rabat.

Fog on the runaway at its home base in Payerne, Switzerland, delayed the take off by two hours, demonstrating how susceptible the prototype single-seater aircraft is to adverse weather.

"We can't fly into clouds because it was not designed for that," Borschberg said as he piloted the plane with its 63meter (207ft) wingspan towards the French city of Lyon at a cruising speed of just 43.5mph.

Before landing in Madrid in the early hours of Friday, Borschberg will face other challenges, including having to fly over the Pyrenees mountains that separate France and Spain. He has a parachute inside his tiny cabin that he hopes never to use.

Piccard &#8211; the son of an undersea explorer Jacques Piccard and grandson of balloonist Auguste Piccard &#8211; will have to cross the windy Straits of Gibraltar from Europe to Africa.

The team has been invited to Morocco by the country's King Mohammed VI to showcase the cutting edge of solar technology.

Morocco is about to start construction on a massive solar energy plant at Ouarzazate, part of a country-wide solar energy grid with a capacity of 2000MW by 2020.

The solar flight is described as a trial for a round-the-world flight with a new aircraft in 2014. That trip will include stops in the US, said Borschberg.

In 2010, the Swiss flew non-stop for 26-hour to demonstrate that the 12,000 solar cells attached to the aircraft can soak up enough sunlight to keep the plane airborne through the night. A year later, he took Solar Impulse on its first international flight to Belgium and France. The project began in 2003 and is estimated to cost about $100m (Â£67m) over 10 years."
From: Solar plane begins first flight from Europe to Africa | Environment | guardian.co.uk


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## silverseeds (Apr 28, 2012)

I really like solar, but this seems pretty silly to me.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Flying bike makers looked pretty silly to start too. Solar planes have a future and high altitude cell phone stations, or weather monitors, and govt./ military spy planes +++ doubtful you'd get an A380 off the ground with solar but you might keep a future generation aloft with solar.


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## silverseeds (Apr 28, 2012)

Well I wouldnt say there are no uses for them at all. But I am betting it will remain rather limited unless we ever figure out a way to use ALL the solar energy available. Even then I doubt it would serve to many uses. 

I wonder how well this thing would fare with more then one passenger? If I remember right our best panels can use 20 some percent of the energy that touches them, so if one passenger is its limit, then at 100% efficiency we are up to 5 passengers right? Or a few hundred pounds of cargo. 

It might keep a future generation aloft, but if for some reason it was all they had, it would likely be out of most peoples reach Id think.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

silverseeds said:


> ... If I remember right our best panels can use 20 some percent of the energy that touches them, ...


*Boeing to mass-produce record-breaking 39.2 percent efficiency solar cell
*
By Darren Quick
17:59 November 24, 2010










"When it comes to solar cells, everyone is chasing the highest conversion efficiency. Although we&#8217;ve seen conversion efficiencies of over 40 percent achieved with multi-junction solar cells in lab environments, Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab is bringing this kind of efficiency to mass production with the announcement of its C3MJ+ solar cells which boast an average conversion efficiency of 39.2 percent.

As far back as 2006 Spectrolab was achieving conversion efficiencies of over 40 percent in the lab with its *high-efficiency multi-junction concentrator solar cells and it reached a peak of 41.6 percent* with a test cell last year, setting a new world record. The company&#8217;s newest terrestrial concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cell, called the C3MJ+, uses essentially the same technology as its record breaking test cell and follows on from its C3MJ solar cell in production since mid-2009 which boasts a conversion efficiency of 38.5 percent. The C3MJ+ solar cells

"Given the new cells' close similarity to our existing production cells, we believe that our current C3MJ customers will be able to easily upgrade for more efficiency," said Russ Jones, Spectrolab director of CPV Business Development.

Spectrolab claims the title of the world&#8217;s leading supplier of solar cells for satellites with its cells supplying power to around 60 percent of satellites currently in orbit, as well as the International Space Station. Boeing hopes to transfer that success to the terrestrial solar cell market with the new high-efficiency solar cells that are expected to be available from January. And it won&#8217;t be resting on its laurels. It expects Spectrolab will achieve a 40 percent average production efficiency for terrestrial solar cells in 2011."
From:Boeing to mass-produce record-breaking 39.2 percent efficiency solar cell

Boris Romanov
www.borisromanov.com


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## silverseeds (Apr 28, 2012)

Now THAT is cool boris. Thanks for posting.


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

*Solar plane completes intercontinental test flight*
By Heather Clancy | June 6, 2012, 3:00am PDT










*Summary:* Solar Impulse lands in Morocco after two-leg journey from *Switzerland,* highlighting the latter *country&#8217;s solar ambition*

The Solar Impulse, an airplane that can fly completely on solar energy, completed the second leg of a test flight that saw it travel from Switzerland to Morocco. The achievement is significant because it marks the first time the plane has been flown from one continent to another.

The flight originated at the Madrid-Barajas airport in Spain and took 19 hours, and 8 minutes. Morocco was chosen in part because of its ambitious solar development plans. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) plans several projects including five solar parks that could produce a capacity of 2000 megawatts by 2020.

&#8220;This flight marks a new stage in the history of the project because we have reached a new continent,&#8221; said Andre Borschberg, the engineer who is Solar Impulse&#8217;s CEO, in a statement about the mission. &#8220;Furthermore, after almost 20 hours of flight, we landed with a full set of batteries. This is extraordinary as it represents an increase in confidence in new technologies.&#8221;

The first portion of the Solar Impulse journey started in Payerne, Switzerland; it took approximately 17 hours for the first leg to be completed.

*As you can see from the photo, it doesn&#8217;t have to be sunny for the solar plane to fly. The project has taken about seven years to reach this stage, based on the work of more than 70 engineers and Solar Impulse team members and close to 80 different partners that have contributed components such as the carbon fiber that makes up its body.*

The plan integrates 12,000 solar cells that run four electric motors and charge the lithium polymer batteries that enable the Solar Impulse to keep flying at night. The plane has a wingspan that is as wide as an Airbus A340 and it weighs about the same as a family car, according to the Solar Impulse team.
From: Solar plane completes intercontinental test flight | ZDNet


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## Boris (Nov 18, 2010)

Update.









*Solar-powered plane takes off for flight across U.S.*
By Laila Kearney
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - 

"A solar-powered airplane that developers hope to eventually pilot around the world took off early on Friday from San Francisco Bay on the first leg of an attempt to fly across the United States with no fuel but the sun's energy.
The plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, departed shortly after 6 a.m. local time from Moffett Field, a joint civil-military airport near the south end of San Francisco, heading first to Phoenix on a slow-speed flight expected to take 15 to 20 hours...

*SOLAR CELLS BUILT INTO WINGS*
...The aircraft runs on about the same power as a motor scooter, propelled by energy collected from 12,000 solar cells built into the wings that simultaneously recharge batteries with a storage capacity equivalent to a Tesla electric car.
In that way, the Solar Impulse can fly after dark on solar energy generated during daylight hours, and will become the first solar-powered aircraft capable of operating day and night without fuel to attempt a U.S. coast-to-coast flight.
But the plane, which from a distance resembles a giant floating insect in the sky, is unlikely to set any speed or altitude records. It can climb gradually to 28,000 feet and flies at an average pace of just 43 miles per hour (69 km per hour).
*The current plane was designed for flights of up to 24 hours at a time, but the next model will have to allow for up to five days and five nights of flying by one pilot - a feat not yet accomplished.*
Meditation and hypnosis were part of the training for the pilots as they prepared to fly on very little sleep.
Asked about the downside of solar-powered flight at a news conference in March to unveil the current plane, Piccard acknowledged there was a price paid for the tiny carrying capacity and massive wings.
"In that sense, it is not the easiest way to fly," he said. "But it is the most fabulous way to fly, because the more you fly, the more energy you have on board."
He added: "We want to inspire as many people as possible to have that same spirit: to dare, to innovate, to invent..."
http://news.yahoo.com/solar-powered-plane-set-first-cross-country-flight-100540741.html

www.borisromanov.com


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