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  • This episode of DNews is brought to you by Norton Security.

  • Flying around the world without any fuel isn’t just for the birds.

  • Hey guys, Amy here for DNews. As fuels prices soar and the carbon footprint of air travel

  • gets bigger, isn’t it nice to imagine a world where solar powered planes fly from

  • city to city without using up a costly natural resource? Well, were on the way to seeing

  • that dream become a reality. Next month, Swiss Pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard

  • will begin a slow but steady flight around the globe without using any fuel. Their airplane,

  • Solar Impulse 2, is entirely solar powered.

  • Solar Impulse 2 is a revolutionary single-seater aircraft made of carbon fiber so it’s ultra

  • light; it weighs just under 7,055 pounds, which is about what a small car weighs. And

  • it’s wingspan is comparatively massive. From tip to tip, Solar Impulse measures just

  • over 263 feet, which is larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.

  • On those wings are more than 17,000 solar cells designed to recharge 2077 pounds of

  • lithium batteries. The batteries store enough energy to allow the airplane to fly at night,

  • too, supplying continuous energy to its four engines. So it should be able to fly around

  • the world without stopping, right? Not quite.

  • Solar Impulse 2 is almost all wing. The cockpit is just over 134 cubic feet and can only support

  • one pilot at a time. There are no facilities, no inflight meal service, and no place to

  • rest. So Borschberg and Piccard will be alternating legs of the journey. They will start from

  • Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, then make several stops in India, China, the U.S.

  • and Europe before returning to Abu Dhabi. If everything goes according to plan, they

  • should complete the trip in late July or early August.

  • The flight is going to take a while because Solar Impulse 2 can’t fly that high or that

  • fast. After its unveiling last April, the solar plane made its debut flight in Switzerland last June 2014.

  • It reached a maximum altitude of 5,500 feet and flew at an average ground

  • speed of 35 mph.

  • This isn’t the first long-distance solar-powered flight these pilots have made. In the summer

  • of 2013, they flew from California to New York in the predecessor aircraft, Solar Impulse.

  • It was also a slow journey, though not as slow; it reached a top speed of about 53 miles per hour.

  • Itll be really interesting to see how this flight develops, and more interesting to see

  • how this technology eventually trickles into the commercial market. But itll still be

  • a while. This solar powered plane is the first of its kind and change doesn’t always come

  • quick to the aviation industry. Flying people all around the world is a massive business

  • that can’t stop while new technologies are introduced. So if solar powered planes do

  • become commonplace, not only is it a way off, but it will likely be a slow transition.

  • So what about you guys? Are you keen to fly by solar power? Providing there was a washroom

  • on board, that is.

  • Let us know in the comments below or you can ask me on Twitter as @astVintageSpace. And

  • don’t forget to subscribe for more DNews every day of the week.

This episode of DNews is brought to you by Norton Security.

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