Piccard To Build Solar Powered Aircraft | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.14.24

 Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Mon, Dec 01, 2003

Piccard To Build Solar Powered Aircraft

Another Record In The Making?

And now for something completely different...

Switzerland's Bertrand Piccard has another trick up his sleeve. Like his first, it involves flight. And that's where the similarity ends.

You might remember Piccard, along with Britain's Brian Jones, was the first to circle the world non-stop in a balloon. That was in 1999. Now, Piccard's sights are set on developing an aircraft powered by the sun and flying it around the world.

"A century after the Wright brothers' first flight, we look forward to adding new pages to solar aviation," said the 54-year old Piccard. "It is a colossal challenge."

But he won't have to go it alone. He'll have help in the development stage from the Lausanne Federal Institute of Technology. The challenge will be to generate enough power to both propell the aircraft and store energy for night flight.

The first trials are expected in about four years. The 'round-the-world flight is expected to last 36 hours.

FMI: www.epfl.ch/Eindex.html, www.solar-impulse.com

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: Remembering Bob Hoover

From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]

ANN FAQ: Follow Us On Instagram!

Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.15.24)

Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.15.24):Altimeter Setting

Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.16.24)

"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 05.17.24: Hummingbird 'Best', Cavorite Flies, Starliner Update

Airborne Affordable Flyers 05.16.24: PRA Runway, Wag-Aero Sold, Young Eagles

Airborne 05.15.24: Ghost Sq MidAir, B-2 Junked, Dream Chaser Readies

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC