100% Solar-Powered Aeroplane Ready To Go Around The World
Solar Impulse—the 100% solar-powered aeroplane that will go around the world—is complete and ready to circumnavigate the globe. And for the first time ever, its pilot—actually, the real Piccard—will use a symbiotic suit.
A symbiotic suit will allow Bertrand Piccard—the pilot and one of the cofounders of the project—to sleep on his seat at any given time, If anything goes wrong or any flight adjustments are needed, the computer will use the suit to wake him up.
With an 80m wingspan—that’s longer than an Airbus A380—the Solar Impulse will travel at an average speed of 70kph at a maximum altitude of 39,300 feet. [Computer Weekly]
- Next Post: Sony Bravia Connected HDTVs Finally Land Netflix Streaming »
- « Previous Post: How Would It Be To Live On The Moon
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Blake380
este
Justin Culmo
grem28
Wasen't this done like 20 years ago? Just shows you how far this solar thing has come. Nowhere
fastm3driver
@craig_16:
you can attain lift at around 25mph with the right kind of plane.
@DDigital: also, traveling at that altitude the plane will travel faster than 43 mph because the air is less dense. this means that the plane will cover more than 43 mph.
Abraham Quintero
@dsh: I'd hate to be the one stuck doing the Pacific Ocean leg!
@dsh: I would assume that you are right... How could they cross an ocean at 43mph in one day?
mhr512
But unlike Airbus, the pilot actually has complete control of the aircraft, which I understand helps mitigate crashing into the ocean.
@grem28: They be sans-serif for me...
Only if Piccards first name was Jean Luc. Then I could have sayd "the real captain jean luc picard". They should have caled the plane the enterprise. Then i could say "captain jean luc picard of the enterprise"
Louis Malcome Mark Junior
@ZaxxonQ.com: lol!
@Baldyman1966 is Holding out for a Hero: I predict I don't understand how a suit that wakes you up is symbiotic. I bet it's not as sharp looking as Picard's uniform either.
There are a lot of regular automobile drivers down here in south florida who could benefit from a suit like that.
@DingosTookMyBaby: I think flashers would be a nice touch, and seeing as though it IS a plane, I'd assume that is already taken care of.
@zenmoused: DON'T forget the Depends!!!!
@closhedbb: That's not somehow symbiotic though. That's just a loud damn alarm in your face.
They had to develop a special suit to wake the guy if he falls asleep?
What ever happened to good old fashioned alarms that go off if something is wrong...?
closhedbb
@TheMightyTexMex: I'm talking about the WHOLE giz site. Everything has changed. Put it back to sans-serif.
grem28
@frigg:
Yes, and he had them install a special blinker on the left wing that will blink constantly.
Well, I'm betting that 43.5 mph rating is what it can do with no outside force. I'm sure the Jet Stream will help out a bit. If a home made solar powered balloon can average 100 mph, I'm sure this can do the same or better... or at least you would think, so I'd say it would take less than 25 days to make the trip.
As for storms, at 39,000 feet, unless he flys through a Hurricane, he'll probably be ok.
Now, I'm not sure if it was this plane or not, but one of the proposed solar planes was supposed to be able to store enough energy to fly through the night (but I'm not sure if it was this one, I'll have to check)
@zenmoused: They will land and switch pilots every 3-4 days.
For those wondering, from the website:
"Since the spring of 2005, flights in real weather conditions have been carried out at the Royal Institute of Meteorology of Brussels and at Geneva airport, for the 2007 simulation. These virtual flights enable the evaluation of the aircraft's energy resources to fly through a whole night, and come back into the sun each morning in order to continue its mission. To be able to do this generally means following a tortuous flight path to avoid cloudy zones on the trajectory.
The Solar Impulse will gain altitude during the day and descend during the night, thereby economising an important quantity of energy in its batteries."
So YES, the airplane can fly 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week, non-stop, around the world, without landing.
However, during the actual circumnavigation it will land every 3 or 4 days to switch out pilots, since a pilot would (presumably) go a little wonky in such a confined space for longer.
@Knirfie: Actually it can. It gains altitude during the day, and descends during the night. Each leg of the flight is 3-4 days long, according to the website.
The 3-4 day limit being imposed by the pilot, not the plane.
Tea! Earl Grey! HOT!
VideoVampire
@grem28: What are you talking about? The post does match the article and the fonts are big and clear!
TheMightyTexMex
@zenmoused: i think you just go in the suit
This post has nothing to do with this article... What in the world happened to the FONTS on giz? Dude... it's real bad. Change it back!
grem28
@Baldyman1966 is Holding out for a Hero: Odd i was thinking it was going to make him do some bad Saturday Night Live dances
@TerryinSt.Paul:
It can't fly 24 hours a day since, you know, it's solar powered. Of course it probably charges some batteries during the day, but I doubt it will have enough batteries to run all night, weight issues and all.
Knirfie
The Picard line is already making headlines...
bloknayrb
@[en.wikipedia.org] ,
Wow, I didn't know planes could fly that slow...
@hindsight2020: "doodoo"? Are you five?
I wonder if this plane will have enough power to make it through violent storms.
TheMightyTexMex
so he's going to be up there for 25ish days? assuming that he's going around the narrowest path around the earth which is pole to pole.
Jesus_Jones
So he's flying a plane that isn't even going 50 MPH?! Is he one of those old people who stays in the left lane at maddeningly slow speeds?
Symbiotic suit eh?
interesting development...
yeah what's the symbiotic suit gonna do when he has to doodoo? wipe his ass?
@TerryinSt.Paul: I don't know. It looks a lot more cramped than most balloons I've seen, especially that really awesome big one, "The Zeppelin."
At 43.5 mph that means it should take this guy roughly 24 days to do this, non stop. That's a long time without potty breaks.
zenmoused
@rDub:25,000/43.5=574.7 hrs.
574.7/24= 23.9 days. Isn't that almost typical for something like this? It sure beats 80 days in a balloon.
TerryinSt.Paul
@Baldyman1966 is Holding out for a Hero:
Ah yes, The "Picard Maneuver"!
(#3)
[www.urbandictionary.com]
Make it so #1 or #2 :P
That is pretty cool but at 43.5mph it is going to be a very long trip
I personally wouldnt have the patience for that kind of endeavor but hey you dont see me trying to break any world records either
rDub
I predict this symbiotic suit will need to be constantly tugged down when he stands up.
That is actually truly awesome!
Inception