An extraordinary Impulse
Solar Impulse-2 pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. (Express photo by Javed Raja)
Solar Impulse-2, the world’s first solar-powered aircraft, is on an extraordinary journey around the world. It landed in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night.
PREPARING
PILOTS: Andre Borschberg is a businessman, ex-fighter pilot; Bertrand Piccard is a psychiatrist, balloonist. Both are Swiss.
TRAINING: They spent 72 hours training in a simulator before flying the Solar Impulse-2. In every 24-hour cycle, the pilots took 6-8 20-minute naps. They practised yoga and self-hypnosis to stay alert.
PROJECT: Around 80 companies collaborated with Borschberg and Piccard over 12 years to build the Solar Impulse 2. Plane will fly for five months around the world.
COST: The world’s first solar-powered aircraft cost $ 150 million, which is still 25 times cheaper than the cost of a Formula One racing team, the pilots said.
FLYING
HEIGHT: 28,000 feet during the day; lower at night to save energy. A control centre in Monaco feeds weather inputs.
SPEED: Optimum 25 knots. Flying faster would take more energy: 8 times more if the speed were to be doubled. According to the SI web site, the aircraft is capable of speeds between 20 knots (36 km/h) and 77 knots (140 km/h).
WEIGHT: As much as a big passenger car or a family car.
DESTINATION: From India, SI-2 will fly to Myanmar and China.
INDIA CALLING
* PICCARD visited India two years ago to speak with key stakeholders, governments and corporates. He has done several programmes in India along with Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for empowerment of women and their education.
MODI CONNECTION
* PICCARD met Narendra Modi, who was then chief minister of Gujarat, four years ago at an innovation conference in the state. “He (Modi) spoke a lot about renewable energy and he supported to bring solar power in India. That is why we decided to come here,” he said.
*BOTH Ahmedabad, where SI-2 landed, and Varanasi, where it is headed now, have close connections to the Prime Minister. The pilots said they chose the cities because of their intimate links with innovation and spirituality, among the major driving forces of their project.
* YOGA, which is a part of the innovators’ lives, is also close to the PM’s heart. Borschebrg has been practising it for over a decade with the help of yoga guru Sanjay Bhanot. Piccard said he practises “self-hypnosis” to connect with his inner-self.
Source:: Indian Express
