Sun Impulse 2 has successfully crossed the Atlantic — the first adventure of its kind made by a sun-powered aircraft. The experimental plane activate from the big apple on Monday and landed this morning in Seville, Spain.
The four-day crossing is one of the most difficult sections inside the aircraft‘s spherical-the-world flight.the journey commenced in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi, and final yr, the sun Impulse 2 flew eight tiers of itsexperience — such as a record-breaking 4-day, 21-hour leg from Japan to Hawaii. however, the craftbecame forced to attend out the iciness on the Pacific island, spending 10 months in a hangar as repairshad been performed and the group waited for max sun conditions.The sun Impulse 2 isn’t any heavier than a vehicle, but has a wingspan of seventy two meters — exceeding that of a Boeing 747. it is coveredin 17,000 photovoltaic cells which electricity its automobiles and charge its batteries at some point of the day, continuing to strength the craft at night time. The sun Impulse can handiest deliver a singlepassenger in its unheated, unpressurized cabin, and generally flies at speeds of round 30 mph (that’s 18times slower than a normal plane). however, the aircraft could hypothetically fly always, and the time it spends airborne is limited normally by the pilot’s patience.
pilots — Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg — have managed trade legs of the aircraft‘s spherical-the-global adventure. The aim of the solar Impulse 2, they say, isn’t always to provide a template for futureairplanes, but to expose the capability of clean, sun strength.
“The Atlantic is the symbolic part of the flight,” Piccard advised The guardian this morning, some hoursbefore landing in Spain. “it’s miles symbolic due to the fact all of the way of transportation have alwaystried to go the Atlantic, the first steamboats, the primary aeroplane, the first balloons, the first airships and, nowadays, it’s miles the first solar-powered aeroplane.”
Piccard stated that in his Atlantic crossing he noticed whales breaching the water and an iceberg floating south away from the Arctic. “every minute is a minute of suspense, a minute of challenge, and the fact i’m able to stay [airborne] with out gasoline or pollution for 4 days and 4 nights is some thing so new,” hesaid. “i have the impression i’m in a technological know-how fiction tale and it’s like i am already inside the destiny. after which I look out of doors and that i say, well it’s no longer the future, it’s now.”
After Seville, the solar Impulse 2 will fly directly to Abu Dhabi, with this final phase of its flight break upinto two or three legs. Greece and Egypt were highlighted as possible pit-stops, however as with previouslegs, this final journey will rely on the weather.
