Part of the wing©
Solar Power in the AIR!!!
Something exciting flew into the Midwest and it has to do with what we love most: Solar Power!!! An airplane named Solar Impulse made a stop in Saint Louis. This is a solar powered airplane that made a grand tour of America in an attempt to circle the globe. It made a pit stop in Saint Louis and the plane was in lay over for a few days in early June to allow people to view it. It’s the first solar plane to fly day and night. For the U.S trip it flew more than 3500 miles. This is a Swiss made plane and with a 208 feet wingspan, it appears to look like a big glider. There are about 12,000 solar cells on this thing to power four electric motors. These motors will in turn drive the propellers. The engines will collectively create 40 horsepower and the plane requires 2,000 feet of runway to take off with. It will lift off the ground at 22mph. With all of the lithium batteries included and the carbon fiber materials too, the plane weighs only 3,500 pounds. Unfortunately, it mostly maintains a 40 mph speed but I say because of the fact this thing can fly at night, clean technology truly is reliable! That’s ok about speed because with the way technology makes leaps and bounds hopefully one day that Boeing 747 © you board for flight will have no need for fuel expect the clean energy from the sun. Sustainable technologies need to be encouraged so be sure to check this plane out on their website and continue to push for innovation!
Blog by Julie Glenn
Solar Impulse on the ground©
Pretty photo of Solar Impulse in flight!!! ©
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