Solar Impulse 2 Flies For 62 Hours To California
Gareth Andrews / 9 years ago
The Solar Impulse 2 looks to set the record for solar-powered planes, first off completing a five-day flight to Hawaii and now landing in California after 62 hours in the air.
The most recent leg is only the ninth in thirteen stages that will take the Solar Impulse 2 around the world with pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. While designed to raise awareness about alternative sources of power for planes, the Solar Impulse is certainly making waves as it flies around the world using nothing but the energy that the sun provides it.
With Borschberg taking over the next stage of the flight, the Solar Impulse’s next destination is New York before completing several more stages and returning to Abu Dhabi where the team left in March last year.
While it’s not the first solar-powered plane, the Solar Impulse is the first one to fly at both day and night. With modern technology improving solar panels and renewable energy at a staggering rate, Elon Musk may be able to create the green VTOL to go alongside the staggering sales that the Tesla Model 3 has so far been greeted with.
Would you trust a plane running on just solar energy? Do you think that we could ever use this technology to pave the way for greener commercial flights around the world?
