May 2010 covers_Covers.qxd - World Airnews

SOLAR IMPULSE WRITES A NEW CHAPTER IN
AVIATION HISTORY
APRIL 7, 2010 will go down in the annals
of aviation history as the day on
which the first flight of the prototype
Solar Impulse was made, culminating seven
years of intensive work, calculations, simulations
and tests to build the completely new
carbon fibre, solar-powered aircraft.
The Solar Impulse left the runway at
Payerne airfield, in Switzerland, at exactly
10h27 watched by thousands of spectators
from all over the country who had come to
witness the historic event. Registered HB-SIA,
the aircraft climbed slowly to a height of just
under 4 000 feet (1 200 metres).
The next 87 minutes saw Solar Impulse test
pilot, Markus Scherdel, spend familiarising
himself with the prototype’s flight behaviour
and performing the initial flight exercises before
making the first landing.
The execution of these various manoeuvres
which included turns simulating the approach
phase, was designed to get a feel for the aircraft
and verify its controllability.
“This first flight was for me a very intense
moment!” exclaimed Scherdel, still under the
emotion of the event, when he stepped down
34 WORLD AIRNEWS, MAY 2010.
from the aircraft. “The HB-SIA behaved just as
the flight simulator told us! Despite its immense
size and feather weight, the aircraft’s
controllability matches our expectations!”
A delighted André Borschberg, CEO and cofounder
of the project, had this to say: “This
first mission was the most risky phase of the
entire project. One hour and 27 minutes of intense
emotion after seven years of research,
testing and perseverance. Never has an airplane
as large and as light as this flown before!
“The aim was to verify the prototype’s behaviour
in flight and to test its reaction to various
manoeuvres. The success of this first flight
allows us to envisage the further programme
with greater serenity!” he added.
Echoing his sentiments, Solar Impulse
chairman and initiator, Bertrand Piccard,
added: “We still have a long way to go until the
night flights and an even longer way before
flying round the world, but today, thanks to the
extraordinary work of an entire team, an
essential step towards achieving our vision has
been taken.
“Our future depends on our ability to convert
rapidly to the use of renewable energies.
Solar Impulse is intended to demonstrate what
can be done already today by using these energies
and applying new technologies that can
save natural resources,” he said.
A few months earlier, the Solar Impulse had
lifted from the runway during taxi tests, but
that flight was described as a mere “flea hop”
and not logged as an official maiden flight.
Involved in the project are 70 people and 80
partner companies, among which are the main
ones: Solvay, Omega and Deutsche Bank; its official
partner; Bayer Material Science; its official
scientific partner; EPFL, its engineering
partner Altran, and its advisory aircraft manufacturer,
Dassault-Aviation.
With its wingspan comparable to that of an
Airbus A340, namely 63,4 metres and its
weight similar to that of an average car (1 600
kg), no aircraft so large yet so light has ever
been built before.
Some 12 000 solar cells are built into its
wing, supplying the four electric motors with
a maximum output of 10 hp with renewable
energy and charging the lithium-polymer (400
kg) batteries during the day to allow the solarpowered
aircraft to fly at night. Q