Impulsive force fighter3/16/2023 ![]() Piccard: Since I had to concentrate on the flying and not on eating, I had some energy food and beverages. What food and beverages have you consumed in the air? We end up by creating our small world in the cockpit in which we feel very comfortable. Interestingly, we learn to focus and concentrate on the present moment instead of thinking how many hours remain until landing. ![]() Our passion for the project and for flying certainly play an important role. Is pilot fatigue an issue during these long flights?īorschberg: To fly the aircraft is so beautiful and special that you don’t feel the fatigue and want to take advantage of this fabulous moment. It’s also a big responsibility to carry the hope of so many thousands of people who have signed up on our website to support the introduction of clean technologies in our world. But when you have the privilege of flying the most incredible airplane in the world, one that flies day and night with no fuel, the last of your wishes is to waste your time by sleeping. Piccard: There’s no way to sleep, as we have no autopilot. I hope we will inspire the next generation to use clean technologies.ĭid you ever sleep during any of your flights? If so, is there a place to rest inside the airplane? And today Solar Impulse is starting a new cycle by flying day and night without fuel. They inspired me to also try to achieve the impossible. While overflying it, I was thinking about all the pioneers who wrote the history of aviation in the 20th century. Piccard: The most memorable vision was Edwards Air Force Base, where so many great firsts of aviation happened. What was the view like during the San Francisco-to-Phoenix leg? What natural land formations were visible from the airplane? The goal is not to go fast, but to fly almost forever as the sun gives enough energy during the day to run the four electric motors and load the batteries, which will allow the plane to fly through the night. Piccard: I flew at an average speed of 40.6 mph and a cruising altitude of 20,000 feet. What was the average cruising speed and altitude during the flight from San Francisco to Phoenix? We plan flights in such a way that we keep the aircraft out of heavy turbulence. The wing structure is designed to be very stiff, and bending at the wing tip is small (1.5 feet difference between the aircraft on the ground and flying). You are right: In some ways, the very low wing loading makes the airplane very sensitive to turbulence and makes it difficult to land in gusty weather.īorschberg: The airplane is designed to sustain turbulence, but in such conditions the aircraft is difficult to handle. Takeoff and landing speed is about 30 miles per hour. What are your takeoff and landing speeds, and how does the aircraft handle during these parts of the flight? Does the 208-foot wingspan generate so much lift that landing is difficult?īorschberg: It’s delicate to handle on the ground, but it can sustain loads in flight like any transport airplane. ![]() Air & Space associate editor Diane Tedeschi interviewed the busy pilots by email.Īir & Space: Solar Impulse looks delicate. In early July Borschberg will complete the final leg, from Washington to New York City. Louis to Washington, D.C., where Solar Impulse arrived on June 16 (it will be on display at Dulles International Airport on Saturday, June 22). Borschberg picked up the second flight from Phoenix to Dallas, and Piccard completed the third and fourth legs, from Dallas to St. Proving that unfueled, clean flight is possible, Piccard flew the mission’s first leg from San Francisco to Phoenix. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is being flown by Bertrand Piccard, who made the world’s first nonstop, round-the-world balloon flight in 1999, and André Borschberg, an entrepreneur and former fighter pilot in the Swiss air force. On May 3, Solar Impulse, a single-seat, solar-powered airplane capable of flying day and night, began a cross-country journey across the United States.
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