Revisiting Solar Impulse HB-SIA & HB-SIB
Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,
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Updates on our Solar-FIT For Sunshine State petition: 163 signatures strong. We need more! Please help us to spread more sunshine by signing this petition and sharing it with others. It is our shared responsibility to move toward the renewable energy age and Sunshine is the cleanest, healthiest, and least war-prone way to go! Thank you.
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got a message from Solar Impulse — the solar airplane that is flying across the United States right now. The plane is carrying a message encouraging governments, CEOs, and other decision-makers to support and deploy clean technologies. Because I signed up, my name is going to be carried in the cockpit of the plane. You should add your name too — the more names the plane carries, the stronger the clean technology message will be on the ground. So far, over 16,000 Friends are virtual passengers in the cockpit. You can add your name by clicking here — it only takes 30 seconds. Thanks! sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker __________________________________________________________________________________________
Due to the ongoing Across America mission of Solar Impulse, I’d like to share one of our earlier posts from 2011 on: Solar Plane, the Swiss Solar Impulse HB-SIA, below, undertaken at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. This project was initiated in 2003 and then promoted by Bertrand Piccard (who co-piloted the first balloon to circle the world non-stop);it has grown to a multi-disciplinary team of 50 specialists from six countries and assisted by about 100 outside advisers.
What a terrific way to prove that we, the earthlings, are capable of freeing ourselves from the dependence on oil ! Through the clean tech of solar energy, SOLARIMPULSE has brought us not only the physical possibility of the first manned flight over night (lasted about 26 hours) by solar powered plane in July 2010, but also the message to educators throughout planet earth the importance of motivating children and students the pioneering spirit and developing new ways of thinking about future, energy, environment , and online education.
Solar Plane-Swiss Solar Impulse HB-SIA, a long-range solar powered plane
Please be sure to view these three FANTASTIC clips below (I could not help but share the feeling of exuberance and hope for mankind in viewing these clips….I was almost in tears….) :
- Solar Impulse-Best of 2010, below:
- Solar Impulse-Best of Night Flight at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zir0f9b1zA )
- SOLARIMPULSE.TV at (http://solarimpulse.tv/sitv/index.php?lang=en )
The prototype HB-SIA has a non-pressurized cockpit, a similar wingspan to the Airbus A340, lithium polymer batteries under the wing, 12,000 photovoltaic cells on the upper wing surface and the horizontal stabilizer generate electricity during the day. These photovoltaic cells and horizontal stabilizer propel the plane and charge the batteries to allow night flight, theoretically enabling the single-seat plane to stay in the air indefinitely. On July 8, 2010, HB-SIA achieved the world’s first manned 26-hour solar flight, flown by Andre Borschberg (started on July 7, 2010, from an airfield in Payenne, Switzerland).
To top HB-SIA, the HB-SIB is planned in the future, with a pressurized cockpit (with supplemental oxygen and various environmental support to the pilot to allow a cruise altitude of 12,000 m (39,000 ft) and advanced avionics to allow for transcontinental and trans-oceanic flights, with wingspan of 80.0 m (262.5 ft), slightly wider than the 79.75 m (261.6 ft) wingspan of an Airbus A380 ( the largest passenger airliner in the world). Solar Impulse HB-SIB requires the development of new materials and construction methods. Solvay has invented electrolytes that allow the energy density of the batteries to be increased;Bayer Material Sciences is utilizing its nanotechnologies for this project;and Decision is using lighter carbon fibers than seen in any previous projects. HB-SIB will undergo the same structural strength and vibration testing as for HB-SIA. Flight testing for HB-SIB is planned for Spring of 2014 and the round-the-world flight for between April and July of 2015;the flight would circle the world in the northern hemisphere near the equator and five stops are planned to change pilots. Once improved battery efficiency allows the reduced weight, a two-seater is envisaged to make a non-stop circumnavigation.
One cannot help but sense the inevitable success of SOLAR ENERGY….upon the horizon…
Another lesson I have learned from this project…the importance of spirit of cooperation among all earthlings….it is time to shed the barriers of nationalism in order to reach the survival of humankind/earthlings….
* 1 inch = 1/12 ft = 2.54 centimeters (or cm)= 0.0254 meter (or m)
Your comments, questions, suggestions are always welcomed either publicly (via comments below) or privately (via sunisthefuture@gmail.com).
Written & Posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://sunisthefuture.net
Tags: Airbus A380, Andre Borschberg, Bertrand Piccard, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, HB-SIA, HB-SIB, horizontal stabilizer, lithium polymer batteries, Payenne, photovoltaic cells, Solar Impulse, Solar Plane, Sun Is The Future, sunisthefuture, sunisthefuture.net, susan sun nunamaker, Swiss, Switzerland