First Round-the-World Solar Flight

A solar plane will attempt the first ever solar-powered round-the-world flight in February. The project's founders want to prove that it is possible to fly without using fossil fuel.The plane, Solar Impulse 2, is to take off from Abu Dhabi and will fly via India, Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and flying across the United States, stopping at New York and Arizona, and then to southern Europe to arrive back in Abu Dhabi. The journey will last five months and will cover 35,000 km or about 22,000 miles. The engines will be entirely powered by solar energy, and the two Swiss co-pilots will take turns for five days and nights at a stretch. The journey will begin in February and end by late July. The world trip will last about 25 flight days at speeds of 50 and 100 km (30 to 60 miles) per hour.Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots and a founder of the project, says that the project is meant to prove that flight is possible in the day and night without any fuel.The plane Solar Impulse 2 weighs about as much as a family car at 2,300 kg or approximately 5,100 pounds. Its wingspan is equal to that of the largest passenger airlines. The plane has taken 12 years to build and test. This is not the first Solar Impulse plane, but the first that is able to fly across oceans and continents.Companies involved in the project include Bayer AG, Solvay, ABB, Schindler, Omega and Masdar, a United Arab Emirates firm.If something goes wrong the co-pilots plan to build another aircraft and continue their journey. With just one seat, Solar Impulse 2 is not a commercially viable plane, but the hope is that it will demonstrate solar-powered aviation and provide a solution to climate change.To contact the writer, email: sonali.raj@gmail.com