Solar Impulse 2 lands in Honolulu after a non-stop 120-hour flight from Japan

Solar Impulse 2, a plane that is powered by the sun's rays has touched down successfully in Hawaii after a record-breaking, five-day journey. The plane, piloted by Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg, had flown non-stop for 120-hours and created a record for non-stop solo flying.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 July 2015.

Andre Borschberg had taken from Nagoya, Japan and has now broken the previous record of 76 hours that had been was set in 2006 by US adventurer Steve Fossett in a specially designed jet.
Solar Impulse 2 does not use any conventional fuel and is on a round-the-world journey that had begun in Abu Dhabi in March and had touched down in Oman, India, Burma, China and Japan.
Solar Impulse 2 is made up of carbon-fiber, has a wingspan of 236ft (72 meter) which is larger than a Boeing 747 but, it weighs just 5,000lb (2,300-Kg). This is the normal weight of a car and it moves also at about the same speed.
The four electric motors of the plane are powered by 17,000 solar cells. The plane climbs to 28,000 feet during the day to charge its solar batteries and, at night, it descends to 10,000 feet so that it can remain in the air at night.
In short, Solar Impulse 2 is a marvel of modern technology and is an indication of what the future of aviation could have in store for us.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Solar powered aircraft ‘Solar Impulse 2’ on its way to Hawaii from Japan

#SolarImpulse2 #solarpower #hawaii #japan #AndreBorschberg ‘Solar Impulse 2’ the solar powered aircraft is on the last leg of its journey around the world without using any type of conventional fuel. It has left Japan and is on its way to Hawaii.
This has been reported in dnaindia.com dated 29 June 2015.

The journey from Japan to Hawaii is nearly 8000-Km flight and there is no means of stopping enroute as it wings its way across the Pacific Ocean. And, 12 hours after take-off, it was more than 1,000-Km into its 7,900-kilometre flight and its pilot "Andre Borschberg had passed the point of no return.
The flight is expected to describe an arc between Japan and Hawaii because it has to follow a corridor with no clouds. ‘Solar Impulse 2’ was delayed for a month in Japan and it finally took off from the central Japanese city of Nagoya.
In the event of any problem cropping up and if the pilot has to face the worst-case scenario, the 62-year-old Borschberg would have to eject from his super-lightweight cockpit with a parachute and a life raft.
Then, he would have to inflate the life raft and wait for another plane to bring help and life support. The pilot can remain in this big raft for approximately three days by which time a ship can come to rescue him.
For the records - Solar Impulse 2 had taken off from Abu Dhabi earlier in 2015 in a multi-leg attempt to get all the way around the world without a single drop of fuel. The flying machine was not supposed to land in Japan, but due to bad weather from Nanjing in China to Hawaii, it was a forced diversion that happened at the beginning of June.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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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.