First global solar plane to come calling in March

A solar-powered plane will be visiting India in early March with halts at Ahmedabad and Varanasi as part of its world tour. It will be for the first time in world aviation history that a solar-powered plane will fly around the world.

Brainchild of founders-cum-pilots Bertrand Piccard (initiator and chairman) and André Borschberg (CEO), the plane's design team is led by André Borschberg, a seasoned flight design engineer, entrepreneur and former Swiss fighter pilot. In India, the plane will be hosted by Aditya Birla group.

It has been learnt that the plane, which can fly at a maximum speed of 140 kph, has to charge batteries during the day time by cruising at about 28,000 feet and later descend to around 5,000 feet after the sunset. The plane is designed in such a way that the pilot's seat can act as his bed and also as toilet, on reclining.

The Solar Impulse 2 will take off from Abu Dhabi (UAE), in early March and return late July. After its stopover in Muscat, the plane will head towards India. After Ahmedabad and Varanasi visits, the plane will take off for Mandalay, Myanmar; and Chongqing and Nanjing in China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, the plane is planned to fly across the US stopping in Phoenix, the Midwest, and JFK, New York City. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the plane's final leg includes a stop-over in Southern Europe or North Africa before completing the round-the-globe flight at its final destination in Abu Dhabi.

According to the Solar Impulse Founders, the plane has been designed not just to fly around the world without a drop of fuel, but also to carry a message: the effectiveness of clean technologies and importance of their sustainability, and showing what can be accomplished with pioneering spirit.

72-metre wingspan

The single-seater aircraft, made of carbon fibre and christened Solar Impulse 2, has a 72-metre wingspan (larger than that of the Boeing 747). It weights just 2,300 kg, equivalent to that of a car. The 17,248 solar cells built into the wing supply electric motors (17.5 CV each) with renewable energy. The cells recharge four lithium batteries, totaling 633 kg each (together weighing about quarter of the plane's weight) , which allow the aircraft to fly at night and therefore have virtually unlimited autonomy.