Around the world in 12,000 solar panels
By Astrit Muzliukaj
Solar Impulse, the unmanned solar powered aircraft made its longest in air flight reaching a height of 28,000 feet and landing after 26-hours. The aircraft powered up the day before and set off during the night managing to surpass its expected air-time of 24 hours to an impressive 26 hours. It is powered by 12,000 solar cells and managed to reach a speed of 70 MPH. The makers’ aim is to circle the globe by 2013.
Ensuring that this technology improves, we could possibly see commercial airliners equipped with such technology. This symbolic flight is a first for humans and, besides the obvious benefits for the airline industry, could see the reduction in fossil fuel usage and possibly usher in a new way of aviation travel. However, some speculate that the solar panels may not be efficient enough to power such a huge aircraft or may need special servicing to keep the solar panels working. In addition to this there is the obvious fact that some flights are carried out during the night and need to be constantly replenished with sunlight to power them up.
(Image courtesy of BBC)
This type of technology is sure to have implications in our flying. Firstly, the low demand for fuel is good news not only for the environment and also a fantastic saving for companies such as Boeing and Airbus. This then has implications on customers as the savings are brought down to travellers in the form of lower fares. This would be a huge benefit for travellers as they could afford more holidays and see more places across the globe for a much lower price of what is spent today.
The possibilities that this experiment brings are endless. The use of solar panels on planes could have knock on effects for other events. An example is the world cup which could see a reduction in overall carbon emissions as a result of spectators flying in solar powered planes. Avid travellers also see it as a perfect way of reducing their individual carbon footprint and doing their bit for the planet. This surely is a great piece of technology and must be supported through to ensure that future generations of planes have solar panels fitted inside them.
In summary, there are three clear winners if this kind of technology really gets into gear. There’s the environment benefiting from low fossil fuel usage and less air pollution. Next, the airline companies such as Airbus and Boeing will benefit through savings because they no longer need to power up their planes using fuel - just simple sunlight. And finally there’s the public. All those great savings that airliners make will pass onto you in a neat little low fare package (in the long run)… hopefully if they are not too greedy.
