Solar Impulse
Encyclopedia
Solar Impulse is a Swiss
long-range solar powered plane project being undertaken at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
, by Bertrand Piccard
and André Borschberg
. The project eventually hopes to succeed in the first circling of the earth with a piloted fixed-wing aircraft
using only solar power. The project is promoted by Bertrand Piccard
, who co-piloted the first balloon to circle the world non-stop.
The first aircraft, bearing the Swiss aircraft registration
code of HB-SIA, is a single-seater, capable of taking off under its own power, and intended to remain airborne up to 36 hours.
This aircraft first flew an entire diurnal solar cycle
, including nearly 9 hours of night flying, in a 26-hour flight on 7–8 July 2010.
Building on the experience of this prototype, a slightly larger follow-on design (HB-SIB) is planned to make circumnavigation
of the globe in 20–25 days.
The project is financed by private companies. The four main partners are Deutsche Bank
, Omega SA, Solvay
, and Schindler
. Other partners include Bayer MaterialScience
, Altran
and Swisscom
. Supporters include Clarins
, Semper, Toyota, BKW, STG. The EPFL, the European Space Agency
(ESA) and Dassault provide additional technical expertise.
Achieved timeline
Planned timeline
The plane has a similar wingspan to the Airbus A340
. Under the wing are four nacelle
s, each with a set of lithium polymer batteries, a 10 hp motor and a twin-bladed propeller. To keep the wing as light as possible, a customised carbon fibre honeycomb sandwich structure is used.
11,628 photovoltaic cells on the upper wing surface and the horizontal stabilizer generate electricity during the day. These both propel the plane and charge the batteries to allow flight at night, theoretically enabling the single-seat plane to stay in the air indefinitely. The first manned flight over night lasted about 26 hours in July 2010.
The major design constraint of the project is the capacity of the lithium polymer batteries. Over 24 hours, in the best conditions, the power train will deliver an average of 8 hp, roughly the power used by the Wright brothers' Flyer
in 1903. As well as charge stored in the batteries, the aircraft uses the potential energy
of height gained during the day for night flight.
, Switzerland. Following taxi testing, a short-hop test flight was made on 2009.
The pilot was Markus Scherdel.
André Borschberg, co-leader of the project team, said: "It was an unbelievable day. The airplane flew for about 350 metres (1,148.3 ft) and about 1 metres (3.3 ft) above the ground ... The aim was not to get high but to land on the same runway at a speed to test its controllability and get a first feeling of its flying characteristics." He added that, "the craft behaved just as the engineers had hoped. It is the end of the engineering phase and the start of the flight testing phase."
The aircraft first flew on purely solar power, charging its batteries in flight, on 2010.
The airplane was flown by André Borschberg
and took off at Central European Summer Time
(UTC+2) on 7 July from an airfield in Payerne
, Switzerland
. It returned for a landing the following morning at local time.
The plane reached a maximum altitude of 8700 m (28,543.3 ft) during its flight. The flight was the longest and highest flight by a manned solar-powered aircraft, records officially recognized by the FAI
in October 2010.
airport, after having completed a flight from its home base in Switzerland. It was the first international flight by the Solar Impulse, at an average altitude of 6000 ft (1,829 m) during the 13-hour flight, for a distance of 630 km (391 mi), with an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The aircraft's slow cruising speed required operating at a mid-altitude, that allowed much faster air traffic to be routed around it. The pilot was Solar Impulse co-founder Andre Borschberg. The project's other co-founder, Bertrand Piccard, said in an interview after the landing: "Our goal is to create a revolution in the minds of people...to promote solar energies -- not necessarily a revolution in aviation."
A second international flight to the Paris Air Show
was attempted on 12 June 2011, but the plane turned back half-way and landed back in Brussels, where it had taken off, due to the weather conditions.
In a second attempt, the solar plane HB-SIA, with pilot André Borschberg, landed in Paris Le Bourget on Tuesday 14 June at 9:15 pm after an 16:05 hours long flight.
and advanced avionics
to allow for transcontinental and trans-oceanic flights.
The wingspan of HB-SIB will be 80 m (262.5 ft), slightly wider than the 79.75 m (261.6 ft) wingspan of an Airbus A380
, the largest passenger airliner
in the world.
The cockpit will include cabin pressurization
, supplemental oxygen
and various environmental support to the pilot to allow a cruise altitude of 12000 metres (39,370.1 ft).
The team hopes that a round-the-world flight will be possible in 2012. The flight would circle the world in the northern hemisphere near the equator. Five stops are planned to change pilots. Each leg will last three to four days, limited by the physiology of the human pilot.
Once improved battery efficiency makes it possible to reduce the weight, a two-seater is envisaged to make a non-stop circumnavigation.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
long-range solar powered plane project being undertaken at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government with the stated mission to:...
, by Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.Born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, Bertrand Piccard, along with Brian Jones, was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe...
and André Borschberg
André Borschberg
An engineer by education and a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, André Borschberg has solid experience in creating and managing companies...
. The project eventually hopes to succeed in the first circling of the earth with a piloted fixed-wing aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
using only solar power. The project is promoted by Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.Born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, Bertrand Piccard, along with Brian Jones, was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe...
, who co-piloted the first balloon to circle the world non-stop.
The first aircraft, bearing the Swiss aircraft registration
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
code of HB-SIA, is a single-seater, capable of taking off under its own power, and intended to remain airborne up to 36 hours.
This aircraft first flew an entire diurnal solar cycle
Diurnal cycle
A diurnal cycle is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the Earth.In climatology, the diurnal cycle is one of the most basic forms of climate patterns. The most familiar such pattern is the diurnal temperature variation...
, including nearly 9 hours of night flying, in a 26-hour flight on 7–8 July 2010.
Building on the experience of this prototype, a slightly larger follow-on design (HB-SIB) is planned to make circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of the globe in 20–25 days.
Design and development
Piccard initiated the Solar Impulse project in 2003. Since then, the team has grown to a multi-disciplinary team of 50 specialists from six countries, assisted by about 100 outside advisers.The project is financed by private companies. The four main partners are Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, Omega SA, Solvay
Solvay (company)
Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company with its head office in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1863 by Ernest Solvay to produce sodium carbonate by the solvay process. Since then the company has diversified to two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics...
, and Schindler
Schindler Group
thumb|200px|Schindler Test Tower in Ebikon, Lucerne, SwitzerlandSchindler was founded in Switzerland in 1874 and is the largest manufacturer of escalators and the second largest manufacturer of elevators world wide. Schindler produces, installs, maintains and modernizes elevators and escalators in...
. Other partners include Bayer MaterialScience
Bayer MaterialScience
Bayer MaterialScience is an independent subgroup within Bayer AG. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG...
, Altran
Altran
Altran Technologies, SA is a European consulting firm founded in 1982 in France. Altran, self dubbed the European leader in high technology and innovation consultancy, operates primarily in technology and innovation consultancy, accounting for nearly half of its turnover...
and Swisscom
Swisscom
Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Along with Swiss Post, it is a successor company to the former state-owned PTT. Its headquarters are located at Worblaufen near Bern...
. Supporters include Clarins
Clarins
Clarins is a French cosmetics company specializing in skincare products and fragrances.The family company was founded in 1954 by the medical student Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who died in 2007...
, Semper, Toyota, BKW, STG. The EPFL, the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA) and Dassault provide additional technical expertise.
Achieved timeline
- 2003: Feasibility study at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneÉcole polytechnique fédérale de LausanneThe École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government with the stated mission to:...
. - 2004–2005: Development of the concept.
- 2006: Simulation of long-haul flights.
- 2006–09: First prototype (HB-SIA).
- 2009: First flight of prototype.
- 2009–11: Manned test flights with prototype.
Planned timeline
- 2011: Build of second prototype (HB-SIB)
- 2011–12: Test flights
- 2012: Lasting days missions and crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
- 2013: Attempt of world tour in several stages, esentially in the north hemisphere.
Prototype aircraft (HB-SIA)
With a non-pressurized cockpit and a limited flight ceiling, this is a demonstrator design.The plane has a similar wingspan to the Airbus A340
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
. Under the wing are four nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
s, each with a set of lithium polymer batteries, a 10 hp motor and a twin-bladed propeller. To keep the wing as light as possible, a customised carbon fibre honeycomb sandwich structure is used.
11,628 photovoltaic cells on the upper wing surface and the horizontal stabilizer generate electricity during the day. These both propel the plane and charge the batteries to allow flight at night, theoretically enabling the single-seat plane to stay in the air indefinitely. The first manned flight over night lasted about 26 hours in July 2010.
The major design constraint of the project is the capacity of the lithium polymer batteries. Over 24 hours, in the best conditions, the power train will deliver an average of 8 hp, roughly the power used by the Wright brothers' Flyer
Wright Flyer
The Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903 near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S.The U.S...
in 1903. As well as charge stored in the batteries, the aircraft uses the potential energy
Potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy stored in a body or in a system due to its position in a force field or due to its configuration. The SI unit of measure for energy and work is the Joule...
of height gained during the day for night flight.
Maiden flight
On 26 June 2009, the Solar Impulse was first presented to the public in DübendorfDübendorf
Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 23,000 . It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winterthur, and Uster.-History:Dübendorf is first mentioned in 946 as...
, Switzerland. Following taxi testing, a short-hop test flight was made on 2009.
The pilot was Markus Scherdel.
André Borschberg, co-leader of the project team, said: "It was an unbelievable day. The airplane flew for about 350 metres (1,148.3 ft) and about 1 metres (3.3 ft) above the ground ... The aim was not to get high but to land on the same runway at a speed to test its controllability and get a first feeling of its flying characteristics." He added that, "the craft behaved just as the engineers had hoped. It is the end of the engineering phase and the start of the flight testing phase."
Further flights
On 7 April 2010 the HB-SIA underwent an extended 87 minute test flight piloted by Markus Scherdel. In contrast to earlier tests, the April flight reached an altitude of 1200 m (3,937 ft).The aircraft first flew on purely solar power, charging its batteries in flight, on 2010.
First overnight flight
On 8 July 2010, HB-SIA achieved the world's first manned 26-hour solar flight.The airplane was flown by André Borschberg
André Borschberg
An engineer by education and a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, André Borschberg has solid experience in creating and managing companies...
and took off at Central European Summer Time
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
(UTC+2) on 7 July from an airfield in Payerne
Payerne
Payerne is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It returned for a landing the following morning at local time.
The plane reached a maximum altitude of 8700 m (28,543.3 ft) during its flight. The flight was the longest and highest flight by a manned solar-powered aircraft, records officially recognized by the FAI
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
in October 2010.
First international flights
On 13 May 2011, at approximately 21:30 local time, HB-SIA landed at Brussels (Zaventem)Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport is an international airport northeast of Brussels, Belgium. The airport is partially in Zaventem and partially in the Diegem area of Machelen, both located in the Flemish Region of Belgium.Brussels Airport currently consists of 54 contact gates, and a total of 109 gates...
airport, after having completed a flight from its home base in Switzerland. It was the first international flight by the Solar Impulse, at an average altitude of 6000 ft (1,829 m) during the 13-hour flight, for a distance of 630 km (391 mi), with an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The aircraft's slow cruising speed required operating at a mid-altitude, that allowed much faster air traffic to be routed around it. The pilot was Solar Impulse co-founder Andre Borschberg. The project's other co-founder, Bertrand Piccard, said in an interview after the landing: "Our goal is to create a revolution in the minds of people...to promote solar energies -- not necessarily a revolution in aviation."
A second international flight to the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
was attempted on 12 June 2011, but the plane turned back half-way and landed back in Brussels, where it had taken off, due to the weather conditions.
In a second attempt, the solar plane HB-SIA, with pilot André Borschberg, landed in Paris Le Bourget on Tuesday 14 June at 9:15 pm after an 16:05 hours long flight.
Planned second aircraft (HB-SIB)
HB-SIB is the Swiss registration code borne by the second Solar Impulse aeroplane. The aircraft is planned for completion in 2011, with a pressurized cockpitCockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
and advanced avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
to allow for transcontinental and trans-oceanic flights.
The wingspan of HB-SIB will be 80 m (262.5 ft), slightly wider than the 79.75 m (261.6 ft) wingspan of an Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
, the largest passenger airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
in the world.
The cockpit will include cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is the pumping of compressed air into an aircraft cabin to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for crew and passengers when flying at altitude.-Need for cabin pressurization:...
, supplemental oxygen
Oxygen mask
An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover the nose and mouth or the entire face...
and various environmental support to the pilot to allow a cruise altitude of 12000 metres (39,370.1 ft).
The team hopes that a round-the-world flight will be possible in 2012. The flight would circle the world in the northern hemisphere near the equator. Five stops are planned to change pilots. Each leg will last three to four days, limited by the physiology of the human pilot.
Once improved battery efficiency makes it possible to reduce the weight, a two-seater is envisaged to make a non-stop circumnavigation.
Specifications (HB-SIA)
See also
External links
- Solar Impulse Web site
- How does Solar Impulse work? How It Works magazine - 2011-05-13
- Record-attempting solar powered plane's first 'hop' BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
(video) 2009-12-04 - Solar Impulse plane starts 24-hour test flight BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
(video) 2010-07-07 - Video of April 2010 flight
- Article about solar impulse
- Article on the SolarImpulse project
- Article about the solar impulse and the revolution in flight
- Solar Impulse: The Endless Flight – slideshow by Life magazine