The revolutionary solo aircraft—imagined by the psychiatrist and round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard, and designed by an engineer named André Borschberg—will, Borschberg predicts, “change the way we think about energy.”
Solar Impulse 2 weighs as little as an SUV but boasts a wingspan greater than a Boeing 747. It’s built of carbon fiber, with 17,000 solar cells in the wing and tail; during the day the cells on the wing supply the motors with energy and charge lithium batteries, which power the plane at night. Top speed is about 87 miles per hour, but the maximum altitude is 28,000 feet.
A quote from Bertrand Piccard, the aircraft's other pilot, said in a statement: "Can you imagine that a solar-powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane?
By Harry
If the plane flew as fast as it could in the same direction as the sun travels how long would it be in daylight? IRP
