We think of solar power in many contexts but a solar-powered airplane is an interesting opportunity. The company Solar Impulse is debuting a solar flying machine.George Delozier at Inventor Spot.com reports:
"To keep the Solar Impulse in the air, an array of 11,628 solar cells cover the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The energy is fed into stacks of Lithium Polymer batteries, one stack per motor and then used to turn the props. In the course of 24 hours, the motors on the HB-SIA average about 8 horsepower output, slightly less than the Wright Brothers had during their first powered flight back in 1903. The mission of the Solar Impulse HB-SIA is to verify the feasibility of an aircraft powered only by solar energy. The team has many tests planned for their plane, many to test the ability of the batteries to sustain flight overnight. The finale of the tests will be a flight that will circumnavigate the globe, with the team following its progress the entire way. The trip will be broken into 5 stages, each lasting about 4 days. It has a wingspan of 208 feet, the equivalent of a Boeing-747, but weights in at only 3500l bs. See full article.
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