The Solar Impulse project has made significant progress toward its aim of being the first solar-powered aircraft flying at night. The team initiated by psychiatrist and famous aeronaut Bertrand Piccard began construction of the 200-foot-wingspan prototype late in April. Flight tests should start next year.
The company tested the Solar Impulse concept in a virtual flight in Geneva last month. It took off early on May 21 from Honolulu, Hawaii, and landed late on May 24 in Phoenix, Arizona–in lieu of the originally planned destination in Florida. “The experience gained in being forced to carry out a significant diversion has been invaluable in the training of the mission team,” the program’s virtual pilots said.
They might have looked for convection to gain altitude; however, those vertical winds are synonyms for turbulence and the aircraft must avoid them as the airframe is fragile.
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