Sunseeker Solar Plane Takes First Passenger Flight

Last month, husband and wife team Eric and Irena Raymond took to the sky together behind the wheel stick of the Solar Flight Sunseeker Duo – making the Sunseeker the first solar-powered airplane to carry two people.

The Sunseeker’s accomplishment may not seem as impressive as, say, the Solar Impulse crew’s plan to circumnavigate the globe using nothing but wind currents and solar power – or, even its test flight from San Fran to Phoenix – but it’s a huge step forward in the Raymonds’ plans to bring solar-powered electric aircraft to the recreational airplane market.

Solar Flight says the Raymonds’ solar plane used energy harvested from the 1,510 solar cells on the Sunseeker Duos’ wings and tail to get off the ground. Once in the air, the solar plane can cruise/glide on just solar power – for flights of up to 12 hours. “Flying the Duo, skimming the white fluffy clouds from above and playing on the sky, I feel like a bird,” says Irena Raymond. “No limitations, a pure freedom. It’s so quiet. Compared to a normal airplane, it’s like night and day. You need very good headset in other powered airplanes, but in the Duo you can speak normally even when the motor is running full power … it’s unbelievable.”

You’ll be able to see more solar plane goodness at Osh Kosh in July. Until then, you can see more of the Sunseeker Duo at Gizmag’s photo gallery, via the link, below. Enjoy!

Source | More Photos: Gizmag.

Solar Impulse Plane Completes Flight From San Francisco to Phoenix

The Solar Impulse, a solar-powered plane that has already flown between Europe and Africa, has just completed the first leg of its American odyssey between San Francisco, California to  Phoenix, Arizona. The flight lasted 18 hours, but eventually the Solar Impulse landed safely in Phoenix. The next stop is Dallas, Texas, and from there it is on to St. Louis, Washington D.C., and eventually New York City.

As you may have guessed, the Solar Impulse is an electric plane covered in solar panels and is extremely lightweight. Despite carrying 12,000 silicon solar cells stretched across the 60-meter wingspan, the Solar Impulse weighs just 1,600 kg, or about 3,500 pounds. The Solar Impulse is so efficient that it uses as much power as an electric scooter.

The Solar Impulse achieves its extremely high efficiency partly because it weighs as much as a conventional passenger car, but has the wide wingspan of a jumbo jet that enables it to accommodate the solar panels that it requires.

The pilot, Bertrand Piccard, said: ”It’s a little bit like being in a dream,” he told reporters after landing.

The flight was so successful that was able to fly in circles for hours while he waited for the Phoenix airport to shut down commercial flight operations as a safety precaution. If all goes well, the Solar Impulse plans to eventually fly around the world in a plane powered by the sun and human ingenuity.

Source: NBC News