Today I saw an article at Engadget that really got my attention. The article: Captain Piccard’s Solar Impulse starts runway testing showed some videos of the first tests of an amazing project called Solar Impulse – Around the World in a Solar Airplane.

The project’s challange sentence says a lot: In a world depending on fossil energies, the Solar Impulse project is a paradox, almost a provocation: it aims to have an airplane take off and fly autonomously, day and night, propelled uniquely by solar energy, right round the world without fuel or pollution. An unachievable goal without pushing back the current technological limits in all fields… so I really recommend you to check out their website to read more about it.

And as for my “amazement”, I have to say that the idea of having a solar impulsed airplane really got me excited. The possibility of ‘an airplane capable of propelling itself solely by means of the energy collected by the solar cells mounted on its wings‘ is simply awesome. Can you imagine this? A plane flying without fuel? That wouldn’t only change the aviation industry but would change everything we know about it, everything we were used to. A plane that flies around using solar energy, without polluting the environment (something that we really need to pay more attention to), is a huge matter in my opinion. And besides all of that, I always like to see the great things that designers, inventors, engineers and brilliant minds can develop together, they always impress me with their intelligence and creativity!

The first stages of the project started in 2003 and the world tour flight is planed to takeoff in 2012, so make sure to remember this date… this will probably be a great change in our ‘flying history’.

I really wish all the success for the Solar Impulse team and congratulate them for the amazing initiative!

Check out some pictures and videos of the project.

Domani, tempo permettendo, il prototipo HB-SIA del Solar Impulse (aereo alimentato ad energia solare), lascerà il proprio hangar all’aerodromo di Dübendorf, vicino Zurigo.

Il velivolo sarà sottoposto ad una serie iniziale di test fissi che coinvolge prima i suoi quattro motori ed in seguito quelli relativi all’interferenza elettromagnetica.

Durante queste prove controllate dall’astronauta Claude Nicollier, il collaudatore professionale tedesco, Markus Scherdel, sarà al comando

• via: www.avionews.it

Кой е Бертран Пикар

Да обиколи света със самолет, който вместо гориво използва енергията на Слънцето. Това е мечтата Бертран Пикар. Не сте чували за него? Е, време е това да се промени. Той е швейцарец, психиатър по образование, чиято страст и призвание е аеронавтиката. През 1999 г. той става първият човек на планетата успял да направи околосветско пътешествие с въздушен балон без междинни кацания. Той обаче не е единственият член на семейството, който се стреми към неизвестното. Неговият дядо Август е влязъл в историята като първият човек достигнал стратосферата с балон. Баща му Жак пък е човекът пръв достигнал неизследвани до тогава океански дълбини и открил там морски обитатели за съществуването на които никой не е предполагал. Така че страстта към неизвестното и неизследваното при Пикар е просто семейна черта. За тях с пълна сила важи мисълта на Жул Верн: “Всичко невъзможно предстои да бъде постигнато”.

Самолетът

Самолетът наречен Solar Impulse (Слънчев Импулс) сам по себе си представлява огрочно инженерно предизвикателство. Единствен източник на енергия за всички системи в него са хилядите малки слънчеви панели разположени на крилото и на опашката. Проблемът е, че енергията, която те дават е твърде ограничена всеки спестен ват е от значение. Размахът на крилата на този самолет е близо 64 метра, равен на този на 240 тонен товарен самолет. При това цялата конструкция тежи едва 1 600 кг – колкото една средноголяма кола. Една четвърт от това тегло представляват литиево-полимерните батерии, с които съхраняват слънчевата енергия, за да може полетът да продължи и нощем. Други интересни факти за машината са че тя лети с помощта на 4 двигателя с обща мощност 40 конски сили при средна скорост на полет от 70 км/ч. Максималната височина на която може да се издигне самолетът е 8500 метра.

Предизвикателството

Още през 1999 г. след края на околосветското пътешествие с балон Бертран Пикар се пита: Дали е възможно да се направи същата околосветска обиколка като се разчита само на слънчева енергия. Както изглежда тази идея се е харесала на много хора. До момента Пикар е успял да събере близо € 100 млн. за този проект. Той осъществява проекта съвместно с Андре Боршберг – инженер с образование по мениджмънт, който е и професионален пилот. Спонсори са компании като Omega и Deutsche Bank. Благодарение на тази подкрепа близо 10 години след възникването на идеята първият тестов полет е съвсем близо. Той ще се проведе идния месец.Основното предизвикателство за пилота в случая е да не заспи за повече от няколко минути, защото на всеки 20 минути е нужна намеса за корекция на курса на полета. Продължителността на изпитанието се очаква да бъде пет денонощия. Освен това пилотът трябва да се храни с по-малко храна от обичайното, както и да се приспособи към малкото пространство в кабината. При успех на първия тестов полет се очакват още няколко полета с все по-голяма продължителност. Обиколката на планетата  е планирана за 2012 година.

В случай, че сте заинтригувани от това истинско предизвикателство, не пропускайте да прочетете тази статия публикувана днес в Times Online, както и да посетите сайта на проекта Solar Impulse.

Solar powered flight grows wings

With the unveiling of the first prototype – the HB-SIA – the Solar Impulse environmentally friendly aeroplane project has entered its final test phase. Nick Smith flew (on a fossil fuel powered plane) to Switzerland to find out more

The curtains pull back to reveal the true scale what it takes to build a long-range solar-powered aircraft. Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, the two main pilots of the Solar Impulse HB-SIA aircraft, embrace; thumbs up signs are given, arms held aloft. Meanwhile the curtains are still retracting to the walls of a hangar that could easily house a commercial passenger airliner.

The wings go on forever. And they need to: not only are they there to provide the as much lift as possible, they also provide the largest possible surface on which the solar panels that will power the aircraft are mounted. Every spare centimetre is covered. To save weight the fuselage has been designed to be minuscule relative to the wingspan, hardly bigger than a conventional glider. Make no mistake: Solar Impulse HB-SIA is a huge presence. And it’s not even the size of the aircraft that the team will use to fly around the world using nothing but the power of the sun.

During Piccard’s presentation, fact after startling fact emerges. With the wingspan of a Boeing 747-400, the Solar Impulse aeroplane weighs less than an average family car (1,600kg). Close to 12,000 wing-mounted solar panels supply renewable energy to four electric motor gondolas that propel the plane. During the day these panels will also charge the lithium-polymer batteries that will supply power for the night-phase of Solar Impulse’s flight. With the batteries weighing in at 400kg – a quarter of the plane’s total weight – getting the balance right has been one of the key challenges in developing the aircraft.

Piccard explained that the HB-SIA is the first prototype in the Solar Impulse project. In order to save weight and space, the aircraft’s cabin is unpressurised (restricting the maximum height to 8,500m), and this is where the test pilots will assess the feasibility of a complete day-night-day flight over 36 hours, propelled only by electricity generated on board by solar power technology. After fine-tuning, the aircraft is scheduled to make the first of a series of three types of test flights before the end of the year, cumulating in a maiden night flight in Switzerland in 2010.

The prototype has three main objectives. The first is to validate the results of the computer simulations and materials selection decisions. The flight will see how the aircraft performs in real life. Attaining a 63m wingspan with the necessary rigidity, lightness and flight controllability with just 1,600kg take-off weight is an aeronautical challenge that has never been achieved to date. And the flight will show how efficient the energy capture and storage system really is.

The results from the test flights will be fed into specification changes for the second aircraft – the HB-SIB – that will carry out the actual project mission of circumnavigating the world in five stages, each lasting several days, in 2012.

Bertrand Piccard is one of the great explorers of the modern era, perhaps most famous for the first ever non-stop circumnavigation of the globe by balloon. Accompanied by aeronaut Brian Jones, Piccard’s Breitling Orbiter 3 landed in Egypt after a 45,755 km flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes, prompting the pilots to co-write the best-selling book ‘Around the World in 20 Days’. But it could have all gone so badly wrong. It was the realisation that the whole project could have been scuppered by lack of fuel that drove him to attempt a further circumnavigation flight – only this time without the use of fossil fuel or its attendant polluting emissions. Solar Impulse was born.

Piccard, who is not known for his ease with measured understatement, said: “If an aircraft is able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled only by solar energy, let no one claim that it is impossible to do the same thing for motor vehicles, heating and air conditioning systems and computers. Through this project we are proclaiming our conviction that a pioneering spirit and political vision can together change society and put an end to fossil fuel dependency.”

In summarising the achievement of the 50 staff employed by the project and the hundreds of experts and advisers who have co-ordinated the technology behind Solar Impulse, Piccard’s colleague Borschberg kept his feet on more solid ground: “A challenge like Solar Impulse,” he said, “can be met only by bringing together engineers from every background.”

At the unveiling of the aircraft the Solar Impulse company hosted a display of some of the components, materials and electronics that went into making the HB-SIA. These include carbon fibre structural pieces such as the wing ribs that give the aerodynamic profile. Despite being so light they can be easily lifted with just your little finger, perhaps the most interesting item is a cockpit instrumentation panel that is effectively a power status summary indicator. Parameters such as rpm and temperature are clearly shown for the four wing-mounted engines, but there is also a series of slider bars that show the condition of batteries or energy accumulators. The batteries are, of course, crucial to the success of the circumnavigation because this is where the surplus energy generated during the day will be stored to power the night-time flying.

Beneath the wings are four gondolas, each containing a 10HP motor, a lithium-polymer battery set and a management system controlling charge/discharge and temperature (represented in the cockpit on the instrument display). The thermal insulation has been designed to conserve the heat radiated by the batteries and to keep them functioning despite the outside air temperature of -40C at 8,500m (roughly the height of Mount Everest). Each engine is fitted with a reducer that limits the rotation of each of the 3.5m diameter, twin-bladed propeller to within the range of 200-4,000rpm (another parameter displayed inside the cockpit).

The energy is gathered by 11,628 monocrystalline silicon cells plastered all over the upper surfaces of the wings and horizontal stabiliser at the rear of the plane. Each cell is 150 microns thick, and has been selected for its light-weight and flexibility. But not, it would seem, for its efficiency. At 22 per cent, the Solar Impulse technical documentation is first to admit, these are nowhere near the most efficient available, but the additional weight required to improve efficiency would have thrown out the mathematical balancing act and the less efficient option won out on other considerations. The designers say that the maximum energy density for the aircraft prototype is 220Wh/kg and only the test flights will be able to provide clues as to whether this needs to be improved upon.

There is only a relatively small part of the day when the solar panels are illuminated at such an angle that they are operating at full efficiency. At midday, each square metre of the wing surface receives the equivalent of 1,000 watts of light power. Over the course of a day this averages out at just 250W/m ². With 200m² of photovoltaic cells and with 12 per cent total efficiency of the propulsion chain, the aircraft’s engines achieve, even after extreme optimisation of the energy chain, an average of just 8 HP, which is about the same power as a 50cc motorcycle. Or, in aeronautical terms, roughly the same amount of power the Wright brothers had available to them in 1903 when they made their first powered flight. The difference is that Solar Impulse is generating its own power on board from renewable resources.

Energy management aside, one of the most critical developments has been the electronic instrumentation panel in the cockpit. This allows the pilot to monitor the condition of the flight in two key parameters – ‘bank-angle’ and ‘side-slip’. The Omega instrument panel was the brainchild of Claude Nicollier, former European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, with four space flights under his belt as well as an eight-hour EVA (spacewalk) to his name. Nicollier also sits on the Swatch Group board of directors that has provided financial assistance for the project, as well as the technical expertise to develop a performance simulation and testing system for the aeroplane’s propulsion chain. Omega already had the technical experience in the field of hybrid propulsion, but, more importantly, was in a position to align its own reputation for engineering excellence in the field of high-end horology with an environmentally friendly sustainable energy project.

“I came up with the idea for what we needed from the instrumentation and I made a drawing to show how I thought it could be implemented,” said Nicollier, demonstrating a prototype schematic at the Dübendorf airfield launch. According to Nicollier, there are two fundamental aspects to the instrument. First, there is a precise indication to the pilot of the bank-angle. This is a critical parameter on Solar Impulse, because, according to Nicollier: “Ninety nine per cent of the turns will be made with a bank-angle of less than 5 degrees. If you go beyond 10 degrees it becomes a little bit more difficult to recover. From our simulations we know that if you go beyond 15 or 20 degrees then you cannot recover. You will end up in a spiral dive and you will have to jump out.”

Second, because of Solar Impulse’s large wing-span to length of fuselage ratio, there is the tendency to pronounced sideslip, an error where the plane drifts off course relative to the direction in which it is pointing – in other words, it won’t go in the direction it’s being steered. Nicollier, who will be taking part in the later phases of the test flights, says that in the early simulator runs there was sideslip of up to 15 degrees, “which means that, because you are flying pretty slowly, as you approach a runway, you will not immediately be able to figure out which direction the aeroplane’s flying.” To indicate sideslip, Nicollier has devised an array of blue LEDs with a green light superimposed that tells the pilot at a glance whether he is good to land.

The wider environmental implications of a flagship technical challenge such as Solar Impulse is largely symbolic, giving bodies such as the European Commission a platform to display their green credentials. And there’s no doubt that Bertrand Piccard has made the most of the opportunity to display technology as a force for environmental sustainability. Piccard and Borschberg are travelling the world spreading the word. At the Beijing Olympics they presented Solar Impulse, and they have taken models to India and the UAE. Along the way they have been helped by a group of high profile ambassadors, including Prince Albert II of Monaco, Buzz Aldrin, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Paulo Coelho and Al Gore.

But it is probably the quietly spoken Nicollier who makes the message clearest. “We have not really made any quantum jumps in technology here today,”he said, “but what we have done is used technology at the limit of what is do-able. Ten years ago it was impossible. In ten years it will be much, much easier. If we can use stronger, lighter materials with more efficient energy management systems drawing on renewable resources, we are simply engineering for a better future.”

Solar Impulse HB-SIA – technical datasheet

Wingspan                  63.40m

Length                         21.85m

Height                          6.40m

Weight                         1,600kg

Motor power               4 x 10 HP electric engines

Solar cells                    11,628 (10,748 on wing, 880 on horizontal stabiliser)

Ave. flying speed        70km/h

Take-off speed            35km/h

How Solar Impulse got off the ground

1999 – Birth of an idea. Idea of Solar Impulse comes to Bertrand Piccard as his first round-the-world balloon flight nearly fails due to lack of fuel.

2001-2003 ­– Scientific support. Piccard scours world researching solar power technology and meeting solar aviation specialists. Teams up with André Borschberg. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) agrees to conduct feasibility study.

2004 – Birth of a company. Solar Impulse SA is founded on 29 June 2004. Core technology team assembled and scientific partnership agreements are signed with EPFL, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Dassault Aviation. Dassault commit to review design of Solar Impulse while providing expertise in fields of aeroelasticity and flight commands, safety and systems reliability.

2004-2007 – Project start-up. Private asset management company Semper become first official supporter, while Belgian industrial group Solvay join as first main partner, providing innovative materials, modelling and simulation. Altran join as engineering partner offering project and risk management as well as aerospace expertise. May 2006 Swiss watch manufacturer Omega join team bringing with them technical expertise of former ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, who develops instrumentation crucial to landing the plane. Feasibility study confirms that an aeroplane with large wingspan and high aerodynamic efficiency is possible.

2007 – Growing wings. After 4 years of research, Piccard and Borschberg present the final design of the first prototype, HB-SIA. Virtual flight mission in May confirms that the battery arrays can store sufficient energy to run engines all night. Pilot training starts.

2008-2009 – Construction assembly tests. Assembly of cockpit and tail boom begin in September 2008. Central wingspar is made from three rectangular carbon fibre and honeycomb sandwich beams laid end-to-end, totalling 63 metres. Vibration tests confirm that modulus of elasticity is lower than expected; meaning that structural rigidity of Solar Impulse is stronger than expected.

2010-2012 – Flight of tomorrow. After six years of design, calculations, simulation and construction the HB-SIB will embark on night flight tests, culminating in the first circumnavigation of the globe by a solar powered aeroplane.

For further details about the Solar Impulse project visit www.solarimpulse.com

Au lucrat la proiect pentru 6 ani 70 de persoane . Avionul este construit in fibra de carbon si are deschizatura aripilor la fel ca un Airbus (63,4 m) dar cu o greutate de 1600 kg. Inventatorul este Bertrand Piccard,un elvetian devenit deja faimos acum 10 ani pt ca a fost primul cel care a facut ocolul pamantului in  mongolfiera. Obiectivul avionului  Solar Impulse este destul de ambitios : efectuarea ocolului pamantului in 5 etape de 3-4 zile  ,in plus se preconizeaza ca o sa devina simbolul energiei verde .Aripile sunt imbracate cu 12.000 de celule solare ultra subtiri care incarca bateriile si alimenteaza 4 motoare electrice cu elice de 10 cai putere fiecare pentru o viteza de 70 km/h .

Nu stiu cat o sa dureze pana cand noi o sa calatorim cu astfel de avioane dar daca ele ne ajuta sa pastram planeta curata atunci totrespectul meu !!!

Antares fliegt: Unter dem linken Flügel sitzt die Brennstoffzelle, unter dem rechten ein Tank für bis zu 4,9 Kilogramm Wasserstoff. (Foto: DLR)

Während die Brennstoffzelle im Auto ziemlich tot ist (Akkus und Hybride stehen dort gerade hoch im Kurs), könnte ihr ausgerechnet im Flugzeug die Zukunft gehören: Das Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) hat heute in Hamburg seinen ersten Flieger vorgestellt, der sich allein mit der Kraft einer Brennstoffzelle in die Lüfte erhebt – und auch dort bleibt. Antares DLR-H2, wie der Motorsegler mit vollem Namen heißt, lässt dabei Sauerstoff aus der Luft elektrochemisch mit reinem Wasserstoff reagieren, den er in einem Tank unter seinem Flügel mit sich herum trägt. Dabei kann er eine Leistung von bis zu 25 Kilowatt (oder 34 PS) erzeugen.

Für den Antrieb ausgewachsener Passagierjets sind Brennstoffzellen (noch) keine Alternative. Mit Antares wollen die DLR-Forscher zunächst einmal zeigen, dass solche Aggregate mit ihrer kontrollierten Knallgas-Explosion überhaupt flugtauglich sind. Erstmals zum Einsatz könnte sie dann am Boden kommen: Bislang werden Jets, solange ihre Triebwerke nicht laufen, von sogenannten Auxiliary Power Units, kurz APU, mit Strom versorgt – kleinen, meist im Heck montierten Gasturbinen, die auf Flugplätzen für jede Menge Lärm und Gestank verantwortlich sind. Brennstoffzellen dagegen würden lautlos arbeiten und nur Wasserdampf erzeugen.

Die Brennstoffzelle im Frachtraum des Forschungsflugzeugs ATRA. (Foto: Airbus Deutschland)

Vergangenes Jahr hat das DLR auf der Berliner Luftfahrtausstellung ILA zudem sein neues Forschungsflugzeug ATRA vorgestellt. Im Frachtraum des umgebauten Airbus A320 arbeitet bereits eine 20-Kilowatt-Brennstoffzelle. Sie könnte künftig einspringen, wenn beide Triebwerke während des Fluges ausfallen und somit weder Hydraulikdruck noch Strom erzeugt wird. Bislang haben Flugzeuge für solche Notfälle eine kleine, ausklappbare Hilfsturbine – die Ram Air Turbine (RAT, im Deutschen auch liebevoll “Ratte” genannt). Eine Brennstoffzelle könnte solche Aufgaben deutlich eleganter lösen.

Fliegende Brennstoffzellen sind indes nichts Neues: Bereits die amerikanischen Gemini-Kapseln Mitte der 60er Jahre bekamen ihren Strom aus Brennstoffzellen, die kurzzeitig bis zu ein Kilowatt liefern konnten. Auch zum Mond sind die Zellen schon geflogen, genauso wie in allen Raumfähren der Space-Shuttle-Ära. Wobei vor 30 oder 40 Jahren, bei der Entwicklung solcher Systeme, nicht unbedingt auf jeden Penny geschaut werden musste.

Bertrand Piccards Sonnenflieger "Solar Impulse". (Foto: Solar Impulse/Stéphane Gros)

Ein wenig hat dem DLR allerdings ein anderer die Schau gestohlen: Vor elf Tage stellte der Schweizer Abenteurer Bertrand Piccard den Prototypen eines Solarfliegers namens Solar Impulse vor, mit dem er erstmals Tag und Nacht rund um die Welt fliegen will. So manche Redaktion wird sich da angesichts Antares gedacht haben: Ah geh, schon wieder so ein Öko-Flieger, lass mal. Eigentlich zu Unrecht, denn das Brennstoffzellenkonzept ist nicht nur technologisch deutlich interessanter als Piccards Solarzellen, Antares kann im Gegensatz zu Solar Impulse auch schon fliegen.

Medienauflauf bei der Vorstellung von "Solar Impulse" vor elf Tagen in Dübendorf. (Foto: Solar Impulse/Stéphane Gros)

Die bessere Show hat aber, sorry, eindeutig Piccard geboten: Während die Schweizer mit ihrem Sonnensegler gleich einen neuen Rekord aufstellen wollen, möchten die Deutschen Testrunde um Testrunde auf dem Hamburger Flughafen drehen. Während Solar Impulse die Welt vor dem Untergang, zumindest aber vor fossilen Energien retten soll (zumindest beim Versuch, Sponsoren für das 70-Millionen-Euro-Projekt zu gewinnen, macht sich so etwas immer gut), soll Antares die Flugtauglichkeit von Brennstoffzellen beweisen. Und während bei der Vorstellung von Solar Impulse mehr als 800 geladene Gäste, Josef Ackermann und Seine Durchlauchtigste Hoheit Fürst Albert II. von Monaco vorbei schauten, kam zu Antares Ole von Beust.

By Yannai Kranzler

Today I booked a flight from home in Israel, to visit my family in New York. I’ll probably be one of tens of thousands of Jews flying to and from Israel this summer and holiday season.

As a nation, we really fly a lot. Proportionally, I’d bet there are more Jewish environmental organizations and eco-oriented people than in most ethnic groups. But our constant Israel flights, from family visits, to vacations, to Birthright trips, leave over an astronomically high carbon footprint, and render us at least as much of the problem as the solution to climate change. And that’s a hard thing to recognize, given that so many of us care deeply about and try very hard to be sensitive to our environment.

Enter Solar Impulse. Solar Impulse is a Swiss initiative to fly a solar-powered airplane around the world- with no fuel, no pollution, no contribution to global warming. Solar Impulse’s HB-SIA gathers sunlight by day, and coasts on what’s been stored by night. There have been solar flights before, but Solar Impulse is by far the most efficient and ambitious yet.

Could it be, then, that Solar Impulse promises us a way to sustainably maintain our Diaspora-Israel connections?

Well, not right now, at least. The HB-SIA flies at an average speed of 70 kilometers per hour- It would take 130 hours to get from Israel to New York (My wife and I are flying this year with an infant, for the first time. Twelve hours of conventional flight sound like a nightmare as it is). In addition, the plane can only carry one passenger- the pilot. And it will only be ready to fly the world in 2012.

For now then, we’ll have to suffice with more mediocre solutions: Offsetting is one option-  At JCI we’re big fans of the Good Energy Initiative. Cutting down on non-Israel related flights is another. As is slashing everyday carbon emissions, from driving less to conserving more, from making conscientious food choices to reusing and recycling household goodies.

Perhaps the most Jewish approach is to recognize our imperfection, and then supplement what we can do with a prayer. Rav Kook, in his “Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace,” concluded that while eating meat is permitted according to Jewish Law, it is only legitimate if we feel the weight of taking an animal’s life, and pray for the day when we will no longer feel the need to do so. He even says that Smicha, when we place our hands on an animal as we pass it off for slaughter in a temple offering, exists for this very purpose.

So, to the Solar Impulse team in Zurich, my prayers are with you. That you complete your mission of flying around the world safely and smoothly, and that you then go home, visit a bit with family, and get right to work at making a solar plane that fits two people. And then three. And that y’all speed the darned thing up a bit! We’ll be rooting for you from the ground.

Click here to download JCI’s free Guide to Offsetting Carbon Emissions, full of the why’s, how’s and with whom’s of offsetting, as well as a special addition on how you and/or your community can develop your own offsetting project.

For more on Solar Impulse, visit www.solarimpulse.com.

After four years of research, studies, calculations and simulations, the Solar Impulse project has entered a concrete phase with the construction of an initial prototype with a 63-metre wingspan, referred to by its registration number “HB-SIA”. Its mission is to verify the working hypotheses in practice and to validate the selected construction technologies and procedures. If the results are conclusive, it could make a 36-hour flight – the equivalent of a complete day-night-day cycle – in 2010 without any fuel.

Quando ci provò Icaro a volare, il sole gli bruciò le ali, perché fatte di cera. Oggi ci prova Solar Impulse e il sole non può che alimentarle quelle ali, perché rivestite da celle fotovoltaiche ultrasottili. E’ stato presentato ufficialmente oggi all’aeroporto di Dubendorf, direttamente dal suo ideatore svizzero Bertrand Piccard il primo aereo a energia solare.

Ed effettivamente Piccard un po’ del moderno Icaro ce l’ha. Noto per aver fatto il giro del mondo in mongolfiera nel 1999, lancia la sfida con il suo prototipo Hb-Sia per volare un’intera notte sopra la Svizzera. Con un’apertura alare di 61 metri , quanto un jumbo jet, e un peso di circa 2 tonnellate, pari a quello di un’automobile di media grandezza, HB-Sia è alimentato da quattro motori elettrici e, grazie alle sue 24.000 cellule fotovoltaiche può accumulare l’energia necessaria per volare sia di notte che di giorno.

Frutto di 6 anni di studi e ricerche, il prototipo presentato oggi rappresenta solo la prima delle versioni del progetto Solar Impulse che verranno messe a punto: nel 2011 sarà infatti costruito un aereo con un’apertura alare di 80 metri e con una cabina pressurizzata che permetterà di volare no stop anche sulle lunghe distanze. Sarà con questo che Piccard nel 2012 volerà da un emisfero all’altro, passando per l’equatore.

“Solo ieri era un sogno. Oggi è un aereo. Domani sarà un ambasciatore dell’energia rinnovabile“, ha dichiarato Piccard durante la conferenza. E da perfetto ambasciatore, durante la missione farà 5 scali per alternarsi con gli altri piloti e per presentare questo esperimento a pubblico e istituzioni: “Se un aereo è in grado di volare sia di giorno che di notte senza carburante, alimentato esclusivamente dall’energia solare, nessuno potrà sostenere l’impossibilità di fare lo stesso con i veicoli a motore, con i sistemi di riscaldamento, con l’aria condizionata e i computer“.

Ma Bernard guarda già oltre, ovviamente al giro del mondo che sarà possibile solo quando si riuscirà a migliorare l’efficienza delle batterie in modo da ridurre il peso e consentire così la presenza nel velivolo del doppio pilota.

Fonte:  GreenMe
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HB-SIA model by alyore via Flickr

A new-concept manned solar aircraft had been unveiled by its developing team in Switzerland one day ago.

Its name is “Solar Impulse” and it’s a full solar-propulsion manned aircraft. Registered as HB-SIA it will try to accomplish a complete trip around the world by travelling days and nights in 25 days.

“Ah-ah you said it’s a solar aircraft, how could it fly during the night?” Yes, good question…while sunlight isn’t enough to power the 4 propellers it will use batteries charged during favorable lihgt-conditions time.

This is no more than a technology demonstrator of course (63m wingspan vs 1600Kg MTOW…) but it’s a little step toward a new future for air transportation.

Chec out the official Solar Impulse website fore more infos and interesting videos!

Presentato ieri il primo aereo alimentato a energia solare, il Solar Impulse, un ennesimo passo verso lo sviluppo di mezzi di trasporto eco-compatibili, in grado di volare di giorno, ovviamente, ma anche di notte, grazie all’energia incamerata nelle batterie. Per le immagini, vi rimando al sito di Repubblica.it:

Il primo aereo alimentato a energia solare è stato presentato durante una conferenza stampa dal suo ideatore Bertrand Piccard all’aeroporto di Dubendorf, in Svizzera. Il Solar Impulse, questo il nome del velivolo, ha mosso i primi passi nel 2003 con uno studio di fattibilità e quello stesso anno la notizia è stata lanciata in tutto il mondo. Fra il 2004 e il 2006 è stato sviluppato il concept; fra il 2007 e il 2009 è stato progettato e prodotto il prototipo Hb-Sia (di 61 metri). E nel 2010 è previsto il test di volo e la prima notte di volo. Ma non solo. Nel 2011 sarà costruito il velivolo HB-SIB (di 80 metri). Infine nel 2012 sarà compiuta la prima missione di più giorni attraversando l’oceano Atlantico e il giro del mondo in cinque tappe.

Questo aereo ha la medesima apertura alare di un Airbus A-380, ma il peso è decisamente inferiore. Ovviamente la capienza non è nemmeno da paragonare a quella di un airbus, ma col tempo (perché no?) si potranno sviluppare tecnologie ancora più efficienti e sfruttare ancora meglio l’energia solare. Ho già accennato, in passato, al fotovoltaico di terza generazione, ma questo è solo l’inizio di un futuro in cui, spero, il Sole sarà la nostra vera fonte di energia.

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veja uma montagem:

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O avião ‘Solar Impulse’ HB-SIA é mostrado nesta sexta-feira (26) na cidade suíça de Duebendorf pelos seus inventores. Segundo eles, o avião, movido a energia solar, dispensa combustível e tem autonomia para dar a volta ao mundo, segundo seu criador, o aventureiro Bertrand Piccard. Ele recebe energia de 24 mil células solares e a transforma em quatro motores elétricos. O primeiro teste de voo deve ocorrer até o final do ano.

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link: http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Tecnologia/0,,MUL1208841-6174,00.html

site oficial: http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Erede di una famiglia di avventurieri e non nuovo a “missioni impossibili”, Bertrand Piccard sta dando gli ultimi ritocchi alla sua nuova impresa: il giro del mondo a bordo di un aereo alimentato esclusivamente ad energia solare. Il progetto di chiama Solar Impulse e con ogni probabilità in autunno decollerà per il suo viaggio. Se un aereo può volare per così tante miglia, allora anche una macchina potrebbe realmente fare a meno della benzina…

In einer von fossilen Energien abhängigen Welt ist das Projekt Solar Impulse ein Paradox oder fast eine Provokation: ein Flugzeug, ausschliesslich angetrieben von Solarenergie, das selbständig startet, seinen Flug Tage und Nacht fortsetzt, bis es schliesslich die Erde ohne Treibstoff und Schadstoffe umrundet hat. Ein Ziel, das nur erreicht werden kann, wenn die Grenzen der heutigen Technologien verschoben werden…

Zwei Männer, beide Piloten, Pioniere und Innovatoren, steuern die Entwicklung von Solar Impulse: Bertrand Piccard, Psychiater, Luftfahrer und Pilot der ersten Nonstop-Weltumrundung im Heissluftballon als Initiator und Präsident. André Borschberg, Ingenieur mit Masterabschluss in Managementwissenschaften, Militärpilot und professioneller Flugzeug- und Helikopterpilot als CEO. Die avantgardistischen Visionen des ersten ergäzen sich mit der Unternehmens- und Managementerfahrung des zweiten.

Bertrand Piccard mit Andreas Kellner