There might be some hope yet for this planet if we can figure out a way to fly around without burning tons of jet fuel and there is a man in Switzerland working on the problem. Bertrand Piccard and his solar powered plane called the "Solar Impulse" took off for its first flight on December 3rd, 2009. Almost 106 years to the day of The Wright Brothers initial flight at Kitty Hawk Piccard Started up the four battery powered engines on his plane and sped down the runway and actually managed to achieve flight. It lasted for less than 30 seconds and did not rise higher off the ground than one meter but before you start laughing and dismiss it just remember that the Wright Brothers first flight lasted about half as long as that and didn't even travel the wingspan of a modern 747 jet plane. There are plans for more ambitious flights in the future. Piccard is setting his sights on making a 36 hour day night flight for next summer.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
First Solar Powered Plane Takes Off
There might be some hope yet for this planet if we can figure out a way to fly around without burning tons of jet fuel and there is a man in Switzerland working on the problem. Bertrand Piccard and his solar powered plane called the "Solar Impulse" took off for its first flight on December 3rd, 2009. Almost 106 years to the day of The Wright Brothers initial flight at Kitty Hawk Piccard Started up the four battery powered engines on his plane and sped down the runway and actually managed to achieve flight. It lasted for less than 30 seconds and did not rise higher off the ground than one meter but before you start laughing and dismiss it just remember that the Wright Brothers first flight lasted about half as long as that and didn't even travel the wingspan of a modern 747 jet plane. There are plans for more ambitious flights in the future. Piccard is setting his sights on making a 36 hour day night flight for next summer.
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