The plane on solar batteries has returned from a world tour – Russian Newspaper

The aircraft Solar Impulse 2 with engines working on solar batteries, has completed a world tour.

On Sunday, he flew out of Cairo in the direction of Abu Dhabi. This 48-hour course was the finish line in the Around the World, which began March 9, 2015. In total, the aircraft crossed 35 thousand. Km, moving at a speed of 60-120 km / h. For 16 months the aircraft landed in 15 cities around the world. And last summer, set the record for the longest non-stop stay in the air constantly flying over 120 hours

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What is this winged machine, which again clearly proved: science and technology is rapidly being driven mankind forward? Most surprisingly, the Solar Impulse 2 – only a single plane, the cabin interior is reminiscent of a small car. But the usual comparisons end with

So, the plane is built from carbon fiber and has huge wings: span – 72 m This little menshe¸ than that of the world’s largest passenger aircraft Airbus 380 (79.75 m.. ) and more than the Boeing-747 (68.5 m). This weighs “Dory” only 2.3 tons. Recall: the weight of the empty Airbus 380 – 280 tons, and a Boeing 747 – 214.5 tons

Plane giant wings and upper fuselage covered with solar cells – is more than 17 thousand cells monocrystalline silicon solar batteries!. The thickness of each – only 135 microns. The effect of their lead four electric motors rated at 17.5 horsepower. The aircraft can reach speeds of up to 140 km / h.

By the way, this is not the first plane on solar batteries. But, as experts note, all of these structures Solar Impulse 2 is the most effective. Indeed, five days without landing in the sky – this is certainly cool. You may recall that legendary first non-stop flight from Moscow to the United States via the North Pole crew of Valery Chkalov lasted 63 hours and 16 minutes in 1937. And on the world’s longest non-stop flight from New York to Singapore recently pilots expend 19 hours … It is clear that to compare Chkalov ANT-25, Airbus A340-500 passenger and Solar Impulse 2, to put it mildly, is not correct. But the fact remains.

As the pilots could survive five days in a tiny cabin Solar Impulse 2? Firstly, trained – held for 72 hours in a special simulator, we studied the techniques of yoga, breathing and self-hypnosis. Second, the pilot’s seat and working at the same time as the flip-bed, and as a sports simulator, and a toilet .. The pilot slept segments of 20 minutes – in these moments he put the plane on autopilot. Parachute, liferaft and survival kit – also packed in the back seat

At night “solar plane” was flying on the day of energy-charged batteries. Ammonium alkaline electrolyte for batteries yielded higher levels of energy density, experts explain.

This wonderful machine can withstand the weight of only one person. Therefore, the two pilots – the Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and entrepreneur Andre Borshberg – flew in turn

Bertrand Piccard in 1999 made the first nonstop flight around the Earth in a balloon.. It belongs to a family of well-known Picard. His father Jacques Piccard in the bathyscaphe reached the first floor of the Mariinsky depression in 1960. And his grandfather Auguste Piccard first climbed into the stratosphere in a balloon in 1931.

The route was deliberately routed through weather prosperous regions with the highest number of sunny days. However, the trip organizers, and the pilots themselves were well aware how high the degree of risk. Especially during the flight across the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic. I do not exclude even the “worst case scenario” – a bailout and splashdown in the ocean …

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– Our first attempt at circumnavigation trip, no matter how it ends, we want to show the world that clean technology and renewable energy sources already allow to achieve what was previously thought impossible – to say Picard flight. – We want the government leaders and especially young professionals saw that everything that can reach the Solar Impulse 2 in the air, will soon become a part of everyday life

However, experts in their assessments of the prospects of “Dory”. not so optimistic: these commercial aircraft, we will not see for a long time. They have little power, they can not lift a lot of weight in the air and fly at high speeds. Sun does not have enough “energy density” in order to raise the aircraft, which must fly somewhere in a reasonably short period of time, say experts. And one of the aeronautical authorities directly stated in solar planes goal – just to be in the air, instead of flying with due speed. Like it or not, and round the world without a drop of kerosene – rather demonstrator features the use of solar energy in the experimental purposes

Despite the fact that the Solar Impulse 2 will not make the revolution in aircraft design, the benefits of the project have, for example, engineers had to. make airplane engines are extremely efficient. Solar Impulse 2 engines lose only 3 per cent of energy through heat, while in a normal plane, this figure reaches 70 percent.

Meanwhile

One of the most promising substitutes for jet fuel – biofuels. Experts predict that its share of the transport by 2020 could amount to 25 percent. There are already a dozen choices of products and the plants from which the new type of airplane “gorjuchki”. In business there are algae, coconuts, Brazil nuts, plants of jatropha (a woody shrub with big oily seeds), non-animal fats.