Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A plane fueled by solar power and not petrol took off this morning on a round the world flight. The Solar Impulse 2 will fly for the next five months from continent to continent, even crossing the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The plane left this morning at 7:12 (local time) from Al-Bateen in Abu Dhabi, flown by Andre Borschberg, a Swiss engineer and pilot, who will alternate with another Swiss Bertrand Picard, famous for his balloon journeys.
Their mission
carries with it the message that a world with clean energy is possible, in the
fight against global warming.
The plane has 17 thousand solar cells distributed along the surface of the 72
meters long wings, nearly as long as those of an Airbus A380, but which only
weigh 2.5 tons. It is equipped with lithium batteries for night flights.
In total, the
aircraft will travel 35 thousand km at a moderate speed (50 to 100 km / h) and
is expected at Abu Dhabi for July-August next.
After Oman, where it is now directed, there will be 12 other destinations
including India, Myanmar, and then - in a single stage, the longest of the journey
- from Nanjing to Hawaii.
The flight is
risky: firstly, because the pilots have to spend long hours completely
concentrated and without distraction; second, because they will have to wait
for favorable climatic conditions and this may delay their trips especially in
the crossing of the oceans.
It is possible to follow everything that happens in the cabin live from the
control center of the mission in Monaco (Principality), via the website
"solarimpulse.com".
Solar Impulse 2
follows on from the prototype Solar Impulse 1, in which the two pilots made the
first flight experiments in Europe, Morocco and the USA.
In total, there are 130 people involved in the adventure: 65 will accompany the
pilots in their round the world flight for the logistics; 65 will remain in
Monaco, at the control center of the mission, such as meteorologists, air
traffic controllers, engineers.