Having circumnavigated the world by balloon and solar-powered aircraft, Bertrand Piccard is ready to make a third around-the-world flight – this time in Solar Airship One, powered by the sun and hydrogen fuel cells. Able to make the 40,000 kilometer (24,855 mile) trip in one gigantic hop, the 151 meters (495.4 feet) long craft will be borne aloft on 50,000 cubic meters (1,766,000 cubic feet) of helium. Unlike his lonely stints at the controls of Solar Impulse 2, Piccard will be joined by two worthy co-pilots; Dorine Bourneton, “The first disabled woman to become an aerobatic pilot (Bourneton was severely injured at age 16 in an aircraft accident) and Michel Tognini, a former French Air Force fighter pilot and European Space Agency astronaut (Tognini has been twice to space, in 1992 and 1999).” The Craft Its helium sealed in 15 large gas bags that emulate the shape of the airship, the ship carries 50,000 cubic meters (1.77 million cubic feet) …
Harbor Air’s eBeaver, MagniX’s Motor, H55’s Batteries
In our last blog entry, we discussed a three-partner enterprise with an American airframe propelled by a French motor powered by British batteries. In this round, we have a Canadian airframe powered by an Australian/American motor driven by Swiss batteries. These international collaborations may pay off in big ways. Datelined Vancouver, B.C., Everett, WA, and Sion, Switzerland, the joint press release shows a strong and well-organized partnership in action. “Harbour Air, North America’s largest seaplane airline; magniX the company powering the electric aviation revolution; and H55, the spin off from Solar Impulse, producing highly efficient certified battery packs, announced a partnership to certify the world’s first electric Beaver (eBeaver) commuter airplane through a supplemental type certificate (STC) program.” H55 is a part, also, of the Solar Impulse Foundation, organized to promote “1000+ efficient and profitable solutions to protect the environment.” Their collaboration with Harbour Air and magniX is one of those solutions. Even though a small airline (40 aircraft) flying …
NAWA’s Straight Line Electrode to More Power
Most battery breakthroughs are five years in the future, following the basic rules of scientific journals and Popular Science magazine. The usual refrains are, “Further research is required,” and “Researchers expect commercial development within the next decade.” Rather than wait for the future, NAWA Technologies claims the world’s fastest electrode today and production now. NAWA’a brochure explains their Vertically Aligned Carbon NanoTube (VACNT) architecture is “key to its next-generation energy storage.” Think of a forest of carbon nanotubes through which current can flow. In the jumble of usual battery materials, an ion would have to clamber over boulder-like obstructions and possibly get hung up in the random intersections of conductive material. The VACNT architecture allows ionic flow as though they are cruising down a well-maintained interstate freeway. Constructed from carbon and graphene, VACNTs hold the promise of a “quantum leap” in battery performance. NAWATechnologies foresees “revolutionary improvements in power, energy, lifecycle and charging time.” Their Ultra Fast Carbon Electrode contributes …
Solar Impulse Foundation Seeks 1,000 Solutions
Andre’ Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, have founded an important outgrowth of their globe-spanning mission – The World Alliance for Efficient Solutions. With almost 500 members and seeking 1,000 with responsible and profitable solutions the two are working to gain investors in literally saving the world. Bertrand Piccard sees a current vision of a world that’s out of phase with technological reality. In an editorial, he mused: “When I was flying with my solar plane over the Atlantic Ocean, I remember looking at the sun that was giving energy to my four electric motors and their huge propellers. There was no noise, no pollution, no fuel… and I could fly forever. At one moment I thought, “This is science fiction, I’m in the future.” And then I realized, “No, it’s completely wrong, I’m in the present. This is what the technologies of today already allow me to do. It’s the rest of the world that …
Solar Impulse Pilot Andre’ Borschberg to Speak at SAS 2017
One of two pilots who guided Solar Impulse around the world will speak at the 2017 Sustainable Aviation Symposium. Andre’ Borschberg, having accomplished along with Bertrand Piccard an extraordinary voyage, uses his reputation and celebrity to educate the world that the “Future is Clean,” a watchword for the team’s ongoing efforts. Last November, for instance, Bertrand Piccard “launched the World Alliance for Clean Technologies under the umbrella of the Solar Impulse Foundation – a second phase in the realization of his vision that clean technologies can accomplish impossible goals and solve many of the challenges facing our society today.” In the meantime, Andre’ uses his engineering talents and perspective to bringing about practical outcomes derived from his and Bertrand’s experiences. Because the airplane derived all its energy from the sun, and because every aspect of its technology had to be of the highest efficiency, he can guide others in adopting these findings into their solutions. The Solar Impulse blog takes the …