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Solar Impulse 2 Breaks Three Records En Route To Hawaii
Zothecula writes: Solar Impulse 2 has started smashing records even before the longest leg of its round-the-world flight is complete. At around three quarters of the way to its next touch down in Hawaii, the single-pilot aircraft has broken the world records for longest distance and duration for solar aviation, with the record for longest ever solo flight of any kind thrown in for good measure.
It seems that in the modern era of flight, with high tech radio and navigation equipment, and modern weather forecasting, that solo flight isn't quite the feat it used to be. Not to say that this is easy, but it doesn't seem like it is the risky endeavour it used to be, either.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Records are almost always broken due to advances in technology, or at least knowledge. Better equipment or better training are consequences of improved knowledge. But it still counts. Even track records are due to better shoes, and new knowledge of how to train the human machine. The four minute mile was once the holy grail of track, now it is routinely run under 4 minutes. Technology plus knowledge.
Since you can't be bothered to actually read the article (yes, I know, who does that?), here is a quote:
"Solar Impulse 2 took off from Nagoya, Japan on Sunday for its audacious five-day flight across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii with Swiss pilot and Solar Impulse co-founder André Borschberg at the helm. It has since stayed in the air for three days and nights without using a single drop of fuel, grabbing the distance and duration records, 5,663 km (3,518 mi) and 80 hours respectively, in the process."
Hoping it's not too much for you to read, you should be able to see that the plane does not fly only during the day.
Well, that doesn't seem to be what is happening:
This isn't some jet engine which does this in a few hours.
You can whine all you want, but the records are real.
They're for solar aviation, which means it's a lot harder and a lot slower.
Call us back when you've done better.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
And everyone is even less impressed with your accomplishments.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Does it count as a record ?
Apparently there's no correlation between intelligence and low slashdot user ids.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
Birds too fly around the world using clean solar energy. Arctic tern fly twice a year
half the globe with no huge ground navigation and support team
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_tern
It's going to take several days to fly from Japan to Hawaii. In the process he's beaten the record for longest solo flight ever.
Are you asshole? Or do you just play one on the internet?
It's a single person aircraft, travelling at an average speed of 50 to 100 km/h (31 to 62 mph).
Yes, it's not a continuous flight. But it will, nonetheless, be the first time a solar powered aircraft will do it, and every leg is pretty much an epic task.
It's still circumnavigation.
So, boo hoo, you disagree with the terminology. Nobody else gives a damn.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Apparently there's no correlation between intelligence and low slashdot user ids.
The only correlation between intelligence and Slashdot UIDs is not having one.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
i don't think it's even psychology or training programmes, it's the extreme tails of human genetic ability, and finding those really really fucking rare individuals who have the traits necessary to break rcords.
If a sport becomes popular (basketball in the USA, track in Jamaica), more individuals are drawn to those activities. And as a result the odds of finding someone who's genetically gifted for that event increase.
Human beings are not different in a genetic sense before or after Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier; what has changed is a wider pool of people competing.
I imagine must take André Borschberg discipline to concentrate on flying and make a good landing after all this time. Then be able get a hot shower and a good meal while sitting at the table!
mfwright@batnet.com
The terminology being used is intentionally misleading.
The way its being said, most people who aren't that interested think its one single continuous flight, which is impressive.
There really isn't anything particularly impressive about this once you take that out of the equation.
Voyager was impressive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
IT actually DID fly around the world without stopping, and it did the entire flight in 9 days, and they didn't stop to take breaks to avoid weather, they flew AROUND a Typhoon FFS.
This solar powered aircraft is more like a training run for one someone actually wants to do it properly.
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