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The pioneering Solar Impulse aircraft shows just how far solar energy can take us, Jenny McNeely reports
Adventure in the 21st century consists of using human creativity and the pioneering spirit to develop the quality of life to which present and future generations are entitled
BERTRAND PICCARD
Harnessing the power of the sun to fly through the night may sound like a flight of fancy worthy of a Jules Verne novel – but adventurer Bertrand Piccard and pilot André Borschberg have brought the impossible to within touching distance. On 8 July, following seven years of planning, design and refinement, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA aircraft landed after completing a record 26-hour flight. The night portion of the flight was entirely powered by the sun’s energy, captured during daylight hours in 12,000 solar cells on a wingspan equal to that of an Airbus 340.
Bertrand Piccard is part of a dynasty of explorers and scientists; a family who’ve gone to the highest heights (Auguste Piccard) and the deepest depths (Jacques Piccard). Bertrand himself made the first non-stop round the world balloon flight. The plane’s pilot and CEO of Solar Impulse, André Borschberg trained with the Swiss Air Force, and is also an engineer and entrepreneur. He practised yoga and meditation before the flight to enable him to cope with the mental and physical fatigue, and after his record-breaking flight described the ‘The joy of seeing the sun rise and feeling the energy beginning to circulate in the solar panels’.
The Solar Impulse team are now setting their sights on crossing the Atlantic and flying around the world in five stages, all of which they hope to do by 2013. If anyone is capable of writing the next page of aviation history – one that sees the elimination of pollution and the potential of renewable energy sources being put to full use – our bets are on the 21st-century adventurers of the Solar Impulse team.
NEED TO KNOW
If you share the Solar Impulse goal of a future independent of fossil fuels, join their supporters’ programme. There are several levels of involvement, including Friend, where you will receive regular test updates; Innovator, which offers the chance to adopt one of the aircraft’s solar cells; and Pioneer, where you’ll have your name inscribed on the fuselage. Visit solarimpulse.com for details on how to become part of the team
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