Solar-Powered Ultralight To Try 24-Hour Flight

blair1q writes "When the solar aircraft Solar Impulse lifts off from an airfield in Switzerland on a sunny day at the end of June, it will begin the first ever manned night flight on a plane propelled exclusively by power it collects from the sun. Former Swiss Air Force pilot Andre Borschberg and round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard developed the aircraft, and Borschberg will be the pilot for this mission. 'The flight will require a lot of attention and concentration — the plane doesn't have an auto-pilot, it has to be flown for 24 hours straight.' For him, the most exciting part of the venture is 'being on the plane during the day and seeing the amount of energy increasing instead of decreasing as on a normal aircraft.'"

Comments

The danger of solar power

[For a Free Internet]

Today the answer to everything seems to be solar power. But before we all get swept up in this fad, let's consider. For every action, there is an equal opposite reaction, said Albert Einstien. Every time yu use up sun rays, you take away energy from the sun. Do these enviro-hippies want to burn out the source of all life and live on a dark ball of ice? They don't care, they are too hopped up on Italian marijuana to think about the consequences of their "innovations." Let's stick to what works, good, clean natural coal power. God bless America!

Re:The danger of solar power

[wisdom_brewing]

They're doing it now to avoid the sunspots of 2013 - http://www.physorg.com/news161026403.html

Re:The danger of solar power

[Rivalz]

Instead of Coal or Solar Power they should create a Boat that Sucks up the water out of the ocean and thanks to BP has oil particles mixed in a high enough concentration to run on a hybrid oil/ocean water mixture forever. Thanks BP!

Re:The danger of solar power

[Ksevio]

One summer I was working at a college and was wearing a hard hat while I was going to check something at a construction site. As I was heading along a public street, some guy with a big beard and rainbow hat and shirt came up and started asking if I knew anything about solar power. I told him I did, and he worriedly asked if it was "sucking in the sun".

I told him that it was safe because it would be wasted if we didn't save it and he seemed very relieved that science wasn't going to use it all up. He promised to talk to me again so I quickly requested to work at a different site.

Re:How about using thermals?

[c0lo]

Combined, solar and thermal energy (i.e. the energy of thermal air updraft) would yield a plane that could stay in the air forever.

[grin... quite a large one] I like the flying forever concept.
And what a wonderful idea: dig some huge bores through the Earth crust and let the planes sore into the night using geothermal. Alternatively, lit/maintain some huge fires to create some constant lift around the globe and suddenly the aviation is no longer affected by oil prices... Errr... wait...

No autopilot?

[excelsior_gr]

I can't believe that they couldn't allow even one of those inflatable ones because of the weight...

Ancestor of Jean Luc?

[antifoidulus]

I just have this to say to you Mr. Picard, "make it so!"

Re:24 hours straight? Dangerous!

[wisdom_brewing]

I think the motivator of "If you fall asleep you die" should be sufficient to keep him alert...

And how will he stay awake?

[billius]

I'm guessing he's going to use the same method Superman uses to stay awake and vigilant all that time.

Re:How about using thermals?

[justleavealonemmmkay]

Well technically on a windless day, ridge lift has EVERYTHING to do with thermals

Re:Bad idea

[Flea of Pain]

No kidding, they had the option to have it flown by Capt. Piccard, and chose the other guy. No way this is going to end well...I bet the other guy even wears a red shirt.