A Big Plane Swallows a Bigger Airplane, Flies it to Abu Dhabi

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Solar Impulse 2 is a big airplane, with a wingspan greater than that of the Boeing Cargolux carrier that transported it to Abu Dhabi this last weekend.  Seeing the craft slipped into the cargo hold of the whale-like Boeing, then disgorged a few hours later, presents an almost mythical vision of leviathans at work and play. Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, has been named the Host City of Solar Impulse for the first round-the-world solar flight, to be started 50 days from now in March.  Following over a score of test flights in Switzerland, HB-SIB was dismantled and packed aboard the 747 that would carry it to the UAE, where it will be prepared for its epic journey.  The mission was announced last year in New York at the UAE reception “on the sidelines of” that United Nations General Assembly.  Attendees included Swiss, UAE and UN dignitaries along with officials “from over 50 countries represented …