The creators of the Solar Impulse, a plane that runs completely on solar power, have announced a cross-country tour called Across America 2013.
Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Swiss duo behind this innovative plane, have successfully flown the plane 26 hours straight, and from Africa to Europe. This trip will be the first in the U.S.
The plane has a wingspan of 208 feet and weighs just over 3,500 pounds – a lot less than conventional planes of a similar size. It is powered by 12,000 photovoltaic cells and batteries that conserve solar energy, to allow the plane to fly at night.
The Solar Impulse in 2012. Credit: Solar Impulse
The trip will start at Moffett Field near San Francisco, CA, on May 1. Because the plane flies at about the speed of a scooter, the pair will have to make pit stops at Phoenix, AZ, Dallas, TX and Washington, DC before finishing its journey in New York City in July.
Each leg of the flight will go for about 20 to 25 hours, and at each stopover, the Swiss pilots will talk to the media, engineers and other interested parties about their endeavour.
The Solar Impulse’s creators say the point of the project is “to spread a message by flying in the skies powered solely by solar energy,” and while the plane is not intended to replace conventional jets, the Solar Impulse has spurred discussion about using more renewable energy in all spheres.
“The more you fly the more energy you have stored in the batteries, so it’s absolutely fabulous to imagine all the possibilities the people can have with these technologies in their daily lives,” said Piccard.
This flight across America is just the next step in the pair’s ultimate goal: to fly around the world in 20 days and 20 nights using only solar power.
