Around the world without fuel

Pilots from Switzerland will try to circumnavigate Kadva in a solar plane

101 Is it possible to fly around the whole world without a single drop of fuel? Two pilots from Switzerland will try to prove that this is possible, with the help of the unique plane developed by their company, Solar Impulse, powered solely by solar energy. A short time ago, the plane took off from Abu Dhabi to Oman, its first stop on a 35,000-kilometer journey that should last about five months.

Jumbo the weight of a car
The plane, Solar Impulse 2, has a wingspan of 72 meters - longer than a Boeing 747, but it is made of carbon fiber and weighs only about 2.5 tons. It carries more than 17,000 thousand solar cells, which should provide energy to operate its four propellers, as well as charge four large batteries, so that the engines can continue to operate even at night.

The plane will make the long journey in segments of several days, partly because of its slow flight, about 70 km/h, and the two pilots Bertrand Picard and Andrey Borshberg, who are also its developers, will alternate between them at the intermediate stations. The plane took off this morning (Monday) from Abu Dhabi to Oman, from there it will continue to India, Myanmar and China, and cross the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii. After passing through several stops in the United States, it will cross the Atlantic Ocean and return to Abu Dhabi via Southern Europe or North Africa - depending on the weather.

The light plane with its large wingspan and weak engines is very sensitive to winds and weather, and the conditions are expected to dictate the exact duration of the journey, and especially the duration of the breaks. The Swiss entrepreneurs hope to prove in the operation that solar energy can be a significant factor in the aviation industry as well, and bring fuel savings to new heights.