Powered only by solar energy, the aircraft Solar Impulse 2 launched this Monday morning in Abu Dhabi a round the world record, which will promote the use of renewable energy and will test the strength of the pilots.
“He started the adventure,” said Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard after takeoff the plane, piloted in the first stage by compatriot André Borschberg.
The revolutionary device that does not use no fuel off at 07h12 local (03h12 GMT) before dawn sun, Al Bateen small airport in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The Solar Impulse 2 sailed east and the first stage is Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, where it reaches the end of the day is expected. The journey of 400 km last 12 hours.
After two hours and 15 minutes of flight, the Solar Impulse two had already made 13% of the way to Muscat, said André Borschberg.
Borschberg spoke to reporters from the plane and called his wife, said the website of the mission.
“The challenge ahead is real for me and for the device”, declared the pilot of 63 years shortly before takeoff.
First of all, it is “a challenge human, “he said.
Dressed in orange uniforms, the two pilots, Borschberg and Piccard, made the last inspections at night. The first was installed in the aircraft cabin car to the applause of his team.
The takeoff from Abu Dhabi, scheduled to start on Saturday, was delayed by strong winds that blew in the region around the weekend.
Around the World in twelve steps is the result of 13 years of research by Borschberg and Piccard, that beyond scientific feat, want to convey a political message.
” We want to share our vision of a cleaner future, “said Piccard, and stressed that this mission should contribute to the fight against global warming.
” Climate change presents a fantastic opportunity to bring to market new green technologies “that will help” preserve the natural resources of our planet, create jobs and sustain “economic growth, he said.
The idea of flying on solar energy was initially the laughingstock of the aviation industry .
Piccard, scion of a dynasty of scientists-adventurers Swiss, gave the first round the world balloon scale in 1999.
The Solar Impulse 2 is powered by over 17,000 solar cells lining wings of 72 meters, almost as long as those of an Airbus A380.
But the SI2, conceived in carbon fiber, weighs about 2.5 tons, much as a family car SUV, and less than 1% by weight of the A380.
In total, the unit will travel 35,000 km at a relatively modest rate (between 50 and 100 km / h) and fly over two oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic.
This Cincunvalacion, at 8,500 meters at most, will take five months, including 25 days of actual flight. The return is scheduled to Abu Dhabi in late July or early August.
Piccard will be in the cockpit when the plane lands back in the UAE, if all goes well.
After Oman, the following destinations are India and Burma, before the longest leg of the journey: five consecutive days of flying single pilot in charge of going Nanking, China, the US islands of Hawaii in the Pacific.
Piccard said the public can “follow live everything we do in the cabin” and “central mission control in Monaco” on the web solarimpulse.com.
<. p> said that a petition was launched to promote renewable energy among the general public in the futureisclean.org pageA total of 130 people participated in the adventure: 65 accompany the riders around the world ( under the logistic support) and 65 will be in Monaco in the control center of the mission (meteorologists, air traffic controllers and engineers).
The Solar Impulse 2 is the successor of the first prototype, the Solar Impulse 1, which allowed its creators to make several long flights in Europe and Morocco and be the first to cross the United States in 2013, with several scales, on a plane of this type
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