Solar Impulse-2 leaves Cairo on the last leg of its journey round the world

Solar Impulse-2, the world's largest solar-powered aircraft, is set to create history by being the world's first fully solar powered aircraft to fly round the world. It has now left the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as it sets off for Dubai on the last leg of its round-the-world tour. It had taken off from Dubai in March 2015.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 24 July 2016.

The Cairo-Abu Dhabi flight would be the 17th and final segment in the journey, which has included crossings of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. If all goes well, Solar Impulse-2 should take about 48 hours to reach Abu Dhabi - the place it began the circumnavigation in March 2015. It is being piloted by Piccard who has alternated pilot duties with his friend and business partner Andre Borschberg.
It should be an easy flight because the weather between Egypt and Abu Dhabi across Saudi is good. But the warmer, thinner air above the Saudi desert would also means Solar Impulse's motors will have to work harder to propel the vehicle forward. That would need careful management of the energy reserves in the plane's lithium polymer batteries so that they can sustain the aircraft through the night hours.
Solar Impulse 2 has covered some 30,000-Km in its quest to become the first plane to circle the world using no fuel other than the energy from the Sun.


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.