On March 8th 2015, a solar powered airplane named the, "Solar Impulse 2," took off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The planes pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are attempting to fly their plane around the world. The plane flew the first leg of its journey 910 miles to Muscat and Oman at a speed of 45 kilometers an hour. The flight took 13 hours.
The "Solar Impulse 2," is very light. It weighs less than 5,070 pound or about as much as a full sized pickup truck. It has a wingspan of 236 feet which is wider than a 747. Its has four electric motors with propellers each measuring 13 feet in diameter. The "Solar Impulse 2," is a solo pilot craft with an unheated and unpressurized cockpit that measures 3.8 meters. Inside is a reclining couch seat that has a removable bottom for a toilet.
The aircraft is powered by lithium-ion batteries that are recharged by 17,000 solar cells. Piccard and Borschberg are attempting to be the first to fly around the world using only the power of the sun, in an effort to show that the technology can be used to reduce the use of fossil fuels. They believe that solar power is the fuel of the future and view it as a source of clean, renewable energy,
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