Indians vie to be part of 1st solar-powered plane
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 15:22 IST   |    59 Comments
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Indians vie to be part of 1st solar-powered plane
Bangalore: Indian engineers are showing a keen interest in becoming a part of the solar-powered aircraft that is expected to fly around the world both during the day and at night without fuel and without polluting the environment. In Zurich, the Solar Impulse project involves an aircraft that weighs 1,600 kg, but with a wing-span of an Airbus A-340 to minimize induced drag and build a super-light plane, reports the Business Line. The upper wing surface of the aircraft is covered with a skin of encapsulated solar cells, while the wing under-sides is coated with a high resistance flexible film. To avoid the additional weight of a pressurized cabin, limit energy consumption, and reduce control panel assistance, the aircraft's maximum altitude will be limited to 8,500 meters. "This is a clever way of flying that will save us 3-5 hours of energy. At 8,000 meters the air is heavier so you consume more energy while at 1,000 meters the air is more helpful," an engineer connected with the project pointed out. The aircraft has been so designed that it can land at regular airports and take off from short runways of a few hundred feet. "We receive a few letters every month from Indian students working on solar or renewable energies as also engineers. There has been growing interest since we visited Delhi and Jaipur," said Phil Mundweller, Head, Media and External Communications, Solar Impulse, told Business Line. The aircraft is expected to take to the skies in 2012 and cover the globe in five stages. The idea is to take off one hour before sunrise, climb to the maximum altitude and not to use energy stock in the battery when the sun goes down but go down to an altitude of about 1,000 meters. After years of preparations, a solar-powered aircraft took to the skies, albeit for a short distance, at the Zurich air-strip in mid-December. Now the promoters are keen to get sponsors from around the world for the project. It is estimated to cost Euro 70 million, of which they have Euro 45 million. Bertrand Piccard, the driving force behind Solar Impulse, said, "Each leg of the journey should be of about 8,000 km as we try and go around the world. The route has not yet been firmed up but we will land on all the five continents." The current plan is to have stops in Europe, the Middle East, China, the Pacific (possibly in Hawaii) and in the United States. Piccard added, "What is being done is not a revolution. We try and open a new path and see what happens. We do not claim that commercial aviation will run on solar energy in the next couple of years. Solar Impulse is not an aircraft but an attempt to show the world what can be achieved by renewable energies and new technologies."

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