Flying around the world without using a drop of fuel, thanks to the Sun

#AndreBorschberg #AbuDhabi #SolarImpulse2 #BertrandPiccard Jules Verne had penned the fabulous adventure of going around the world in 80 days and, thanks to science and technology, today it is possible to complete the same journey in a matter of a few hours. But, completing such a journey without using a single drop of fuel is a totally new concept. This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 9 March 2015.
Yes, a Swiss solar-powered plane has taken off took off from Abu Dhabi and it will go around the world by using solar power – the journey could take months to complete but, not a drop of fuel would be used.
The plane is being piloted by Solar Impulse founder Andre Borschberg. It took off from the Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi and he will trade off piloting with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard during stop-overs.
The complete journey is expected to run into months. Its first stop would be at Muscat where it should arrive after about 10 hours of flight.
The intention of the Swiss pilots is to create awareness about replacing "old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies."
Some legs of the trip, such as over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, will mean five or six straight days of flying solo. Some details of the lightweight Solar Impulse 2 are – it has a 236-foot wingspan which is larger than that of the Boeing 747. However, it weighs around 5070 pounds – as much as a car!!
It is a larger version of a single-seat prototype that had flown for the first time some five years ago.
It is made of carbon fiber and has 17,248 solar cells which are built into the wing that supply the plane with renewable energy in the form of four lithium polymer batteries.