Posts Tagged ‘bertrand’
Solar plane completes maiden flight
An experimental plane, powered only by rays from the sun, has landed safely in Switzerland after successfully completing its first 24-hour test flight. The “Solar Impulse” took off on Wednesday from Payerne airfield shortly after dawn and touched down a day later having proved that overnight solar-powered flight is possible. Clear blue skies meant that the prototype aircraft was able to soak up plenty of solar energy as it made a gradual ascent to a final altitude to 27900 feet or 8500 metres and then flew in darkness using energy stored up during the day. Pilot Andre Borschberg endured freezing conditions overnight and ended the test flight with a picture-perfect landing. Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports.
Posted in Solar Power | 
Tags: AL, bertrand, CHARLES, energy, europenews, experimental, impulse, Jazeera, Piccard, plane, solar, Stratford, switzerland | 
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Solar Electric Powered Flight
Glenn Pew interviews Eric Raymond. Eric has been flying his battery launched solar assisted sailplane since the late ’80s. He knows the road to progress doesn’t come as bolts of lightning in time but through years of small steps. Glenn Pew caught up with Eric to learn about Sunseeker the Solar Impulse project and more… www.glennpew.com
