Tag Archives: BertrandPiccard

Solar Impulse ends cross-country US flight slightly early in NY due to torn left wing

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Solar Impulse ends crosscountry US flight slightly early in NY due to torn left wing

Solar Impulse has successfully hopped its way across the US, completing the final leg of its journey from Washington Dulles International Airport. While today marks the end of the effort at New York's JFK airport as expected, the solar-powered aircraft landed a roughly three hours early -- this, due to an eight-foot tear in its left wing discovered over Toms River, New Jersey. According to the crew, the breakage posed no significant threat to pilot André Borschberg, but it did mean a planned fly-by of the Statue of Liberty had to be nixed.

If you'll recall, this was the first US-based trip for Solar Impulse, which the team used largely to raise further awareness about energy efficiency. Aside from that, you can bet some extra publicity can't hurt before a future model is set to make a flight across the world in 2015. Relive Solar Impulse's Across America start at Mountain View, CA here and get more info about the full endeavor at the source link. Livestream wrap-up embedded after the break.

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Source: Solar Impulse

Solar Impulse sets off on its journey across the US (video)

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Solar Impulse sets off on its journey across the US

Early this morning at Moffet Air Field in Mountain View, California, Solar Impulse finally took off on the first leg of its barnstorming tour across the US. Of course, this isn't the first time the sun-powered plane and its pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, have flown long distance, but it is the first time it's taken wing through American airspace. Why has it come across the pond? To raise pubilc and political awareness about the benefits of going green and increasing energy efficiency -- and perhaps pick up an additional sponsor or two for its second-gen aircraft (currently in development) meant to fly around the world in 2015. "With the technologies we have onboard, we can divide by two the energy consumption of our world, and produce half of the rest [energy we need] with renewable sources" according to Piccard.

Gallery: Solar Impulse Across America

This first portion of the journey will end in Phoenix, and it'll take around twenty hours to get there, as the plane's meager output limits its average speed to around 40MPH. Should any of you want to join along with Piccard and Borschberg as they fly across the country, you can hit the Solar Impulse Across America website to see a livestream from the cockpit, along with real-time altitude, air speed and battery status of the aircraft. And, you can watch a video of Solar Impulse taking off on its North American journey and hear Borschberg talk about learning to fly it after the break.

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Solar Impulse to fly across the US, pilots preparing for a trip around the world in 2015

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Solar Impulse to fly across the US in preparation for a trip around the world in 2015

We've been tracking the sun-powered plane known as Solar Impulse for years as it roved hither and yon. Today, Solar Impulse's pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, came to NASA's Ames research center to announce their plan to fly across America. The cross-country tour will begin in the Bay Area and end in New York, with stops in Phoenix, Dallas and Washington DC in between. Solar Impulse will also land in either Atlanta, Nashville or St. Louis, with the plane and its pilots set to stay in each locale for about a week to ten days to talk about the project before moving on. For the next month, Piccard and Borschberg will perform test flights around the Bay Area in preparation, and the plan is for the journey to start on May 1st, with an estimated arrival in Gotham sometime in early July.

Gallery: Solar Impulse Across America event

The point of this new flight is to inspire and educate the public in general of the benefits of renewable energy and efficiency, and to encourage school children and university students in particular to "think off the grid" and innovate and invent on their own. To that end, the pilots will be broadcasting live transmissions and allowing the public to speak with them as they fly, in addition to providing access to flight planning information on the Solar Impulse website. Read on to learn a bit more about the Solar Impulse project and it's future plans.

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Solar Impulse completes transcontinental flight, runs out of complimentary peanuts

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Solar Impulse completes flight, runs out of complimentary peanuts

The Impulse solar-powered plane has successfully completed its first transcontinental journey. It took 19 hours to jet between Madrid and Morocco -- with the plane's 12,000 solar cells swallowing enough power to keep it going long into the night. Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg can now look forward to planning their next voyage: a round the world cruise penciled in for 2014.

Continue reading Solar Impulse completes transcontinental flight, runs out of complimentary peanuts

Solar Impulse completes transcontinental flight, runs out of complimentary peanuts originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Solar Impulse takes off for Morocco on first sun-powered transcontinental flight

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Solar Impulse takes off for Morocco on first sun-powered transcontinental flight

The sun-powered Solar Impulse plane is gradually working up to a trip around the globe, with the most recent benchmark being its first international flight in 2011. Now Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are taking the jumbo jet-size plane on its first transcontinental journey. The Solar Impulse set off for Morocco today, and its pilots will stop in Madrid along the way. The goal is to complete the 1,554-mile trip by next week, and the big challenge will be crossing cloudy regions like the Pyrenees mountains separating France and Spain. In a 2010 test flight, the Impulse's 12,000 solar cells soaked up enough rays to keep the plane going through the night, but in case something goes wrong this time, the pilots are prepared with parachutes. If all goes well on this trial run, Piccard and Borschberg will be just one step away from their goal of circumnavigating the world in 2014.

Solar Impulse takes off for Morocco on first sun-powered transcontinental flight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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