Solar Impulse's Maiden Flight Successful

Tweet

That’s right, folks, the prototype for an airplane powered entirely by the sun managed to successfully touch down after its first flight yesterday, a twenty six hour run through Switzerland.

This actually represents a significant achievement, as no one was really all that sure the craft could successfully store enough energy during the day to not only maintain its flight, but also reserve enough power to generate thrust enough to fly at night. But those concerns are now put to rest as the first flight proves it can be done.

The Solar Impulse, the name of the prototype in question, was carrying fully 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells on its wings, and a battery supply in the plane itself. It helped that the photovoltaic panels were made from comparatively lightweight monocrystalline silicon, which reduced weight significantly but also dropped the efficiency through the floor, down to about 12 percent.

But this is just the start–word is that the next plan takes the Solar Impulse’s crew back to the drawing board in a bid to create a solar-powered aircraft that will circle the planet by 2013. So maybe, sometime, we’ll all be able to do our commercial flying by the sun instead of by burning epic amounts of fuel.