Maiden Flight of Solar Impulse

Today's solar aircraft has drawn first solar impulse of Bertrand Piccard. Experience the event live here - but honestly, the rapporteur sat only at the radio and had numerous live circuits on the Internet.

12 h: Just to the lunch is safely landed the aircraft on the Payerne airfield and thus has successfully completed the first flight. The last phases of flight brought a supposed horrors as the propeller aussetzten - but was also planned. The machine finally rolled out on the slopes and stopped the engines again. The first flight is done.At the press conference following, it became clear that the world circumnavigation is completed before the year 2013.

11. reporter Radio DRS has 15 h: as «beautiful» event I just described the first flight of solar impulse (Reuters picture). With only about 35 km/H, the aircraft flew before hundreds of viewers past before it for the first time really distinguished (a Hüpfer flight with around one meter withdrawal had held previously found).But today's flight, which will last longer than one hour is only an intermediate step on the way to the great, a solar-powered world circumnavigation in 2012. Previously, an Atlantic flight and a crossing of the USA to prove the airworthiness.

11. 00 h: now starts the aircraft holds in the air and rotates its first rounds. The Motorenlärm created the Propellerflugzeug - what is subsequently proved false info is amazing, the noise is apparently from an accompanying helicopter.The solar airplane flies under other eyewitnesses completely silent, despite propellers. A startup video available on the website of the day indicator.The flight is expected to one and a half hours and go up to maximum 1500 meters height.

10. 49 h: unfortunately nothing of the airfield. My source is currently deals with transport buses - which can be later times indeed a problem with a solar flight... provisionally we so patiently wait for the first time.

10.05h: So far nothing new of the airfield, but the project has received other prominent partners how the portal report nachhaltigkeit.org: Bayer MaterialScience is therefore new official partner of the project.Its protagonists Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg to develop the first manned aircraft that day and night without fuel can fly and exclusively by solar energy driven to circumambulate the world. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies, a prototype of the aircraft with a large Verkehrsflugzeugs (63,40 M) span is heavier than a mid-range cars (1,600 kg). Four electrical motors drive to 12,000 solar cells on the surface of the aircraft. The solar energy for the night is stored in lithium batteries, which altogether weighed 400 kilograms.

09.40 h h a decade ago so the project after the balloon flight with world circumnavigation with the solar aircraft in the lightweight design with 12 ' 000 solar cells: «How should a sliding by large waves, be flying» to flight and solar pioneer Bertrand Piccard (see picture) in a personal statement.

09.30 h the weather are not bad.However, is to be expected with such brilliant sunshine remaining land in Western Switzerland.A Gnostiker recommends appropriately align the route control so direction Bern / Zurich.Just how comes back the aircraft then?

© Solar media