On June 5, 2012, the Solar Impulse flew from Spain to Morocco to become the first solar-powered plane to complete an intercontinental flight. Before we talk about the intercontinental flight, lets first take a look at the Solar Impulse project and see how it came to be.
The goal of the Solar Impulse project was to bring to the attention of the world how clean technologies could be used to power a plane. The plan was to construct a fixed-wing aircraft capable of flying around the globe solely using solar power.
The project was the idea of a Swiss balloonist
The idea for Solar Impulse was that of Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon co-pilot Bertrand Piccard following his successful non-stop circumnavigation of the Earth in a balloon in 1999. To help finance the project, he enlisted the help of Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg.
The privately financed project's goal was to build a single-seat monoplane powered by photovoltaic cells. The aircraft had to be able to take off under its own power and remain airborne for at least 36 hours.
The plane had a cruising speed of 43 mph
Constructed using lightweight materials, Solar Impulse had a non-pressurized cabin and a wingspan similar to an Airbus A340. Four 7.5 kW (10 hp) electric motors fitted with 11-foot diameter propellers powered the plane, giving it a cruising speed of 43 mph. On the upper wing and horizontal stabilizer, the aircraft had 1,628 photovoltaic cells to power the aircraft during daylight and to charge the lithium polymer batteries to enable it to keep flying at night. The aircraft conducted its maiden flight in December 2009 before flying an entire diurnal solar cycle which included nine hours at night.
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The flight to Morocco was at the invitation of King Mohammed VI
To celebrate the opening of the world's largest solar thermal plant in Ouarzazate, Morocco, the Solar Impulse team accepted an invitation from King Mohammed VI and the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) to attend. When up and running, the plant will harness the sun to produce 2,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy for North Africa and Europe.
In 2012 while flying the plane from Payerne Air Base in Switzerland to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) on the first leg of its intercontinental flight to Morocco, the aircraft broke several existing records. One of which was the longest solar-powered flight between pre-declared waypoints, a total distance of 693 miles.
To complete the journey, the aircraft took off from Madrid at 05:22 local time on the morning of June 5, 2012. The aircraft then climbed to a height of 11,800 feet as it headed in the direction of Seville. Upon reaching Seville, the plane would then turn south, crossing over the Straits of Gibraltar at an altitude of 27,800 feet, entering Moroccan airspace over the city of Tangiers. Solar Impulse continued flying south from the coastal city, landing at Rabat–Salé Airport (RBA) a little before midnight.
After a five-day stopover in Rabat, Solar Impulse flew to the southern city of Ouarzazate for the opening of the solar plant.