'Solar Impulse' Video: Plane takes off & flies exclusively on sunlight

[ulvebonden]

I really hope that humans will find a way to use all specters of light in a sun panel, the amount of sun energy from a sun panel today is minimal

the specter is too small.

maybe plant plangton sun panels is the future?

[41stgaming]

build a plane with solar panels and a regular motor that can get above the clouds regularly and then switch to solar power.

[vanvanbluz]

Beautious! I wonder how long can it fly at night?

[vibing92]

Dear santa.... :)

[sneakytouchyourplace]

Inception music lol. DO A BARROL ROLL

[MrSteveykk]

I hope they invest in this, at least then I wouldn't hear those disgustingly loud planes that we have today. I think the combustion engine has done more harm than good so this would be a welcome change. We certainly have to look at more sustainable ways to travel.

[jvreymondon]

Impressive flight on sunday morning ! ThX for that!

A lot of other Paris Air Show videos on youtube.com/user/EADStv

[mercanaries3]

it can fly at night because the battery is charged for a full 12 hour flight

this is what we should be looking into! THIS not war not fucking spending 400mill for one damn heli

m'kay?

[bradcfi2]

Yes, another example of the impractical green energy movement via a completely worthless aircraft regressing back to Wright Brother performance in the 20th century. The green industry has yet to demonstrate cost effective energy. By the way, oil is natural.

[SharkDude1]

Awesome french plane. If the USA had thism im sure they would use it to bomb somebody. Great Work though!

[fjslfhalfhkdjfh]

@SharkDude1 Swiss plane

[TheEEStudent]

Take a blimp, cover its top side with solar panels, and let it float in the upper stratosphere, cabled to the ground. Use the ground connection to convey power. This could be used as a solar powerplant, as sunlight in the upper stratosphere has a lot more energy then down here. Another option: take two blimps and stretch a solar array between them.

[ZombieX13]

@TheEEStudent A serious concern would be damage from lightning strikes. That cable would be a lightning rod. Good idea though. Lightning could also hit the blimps since the lightning would have a charge to start at up there now. Maybe a microwave beam instead of a cable though. Workable.

[bboucharde]

(1) Not so environmentally friendly if you consider all of the processes required to make those PV cells. (2) An admirable technology showcase craft for airshows, but completely impractical for normal commercial use. (3) It looks VERY fragile, reminding me of the flying "kites" that were flown from about 1903 to 1909.

[dailysigint]

@bboucharde So was the Wright brother's plane. This appears to be a 'proof of concept' project. The above comment about lighter than air vehicles is also right-on but weather considerations are a deterrent.

[dailysigint]

@bboucharde So was the Wright brother's plane. This appears to be a 'proof of concept' project. The above comment about lighter than air vehicles is also right-on but weather considerations are a deterrent.

[bboucharde]

@dailysigint Thanks for your thoughts. However, we run into physics here. The horsepower per pound just is not there. How would this fly in storms, or at night, or with 300 passengers? Again, the technology may have some specialized applications, and maybe super-rich Hollywood stars and Silicon Valley executives will purchase these for afternoon thrills over the beaches at Malibu, but get real when it comes to something like, "We need a drill rig in Dubai tomorrow morning via 747 freighter."

[skat0r]

lol at the guys cycling next to it

[TEMPEWITNESS]

This thing is a joke right? I don't even want to know how much money this piece of junk cost...

[pyr666]

this project was developed with things like weather or ocean monitoring in mind.

[yourcamden]

It has great potential, wow, it's so quiete, one for peaceful skys.

[TheDrfoxx]

Brilliant!! All my love to those who took part in this obvious future of flight:)

[FoXBaT360]

@TheDrfoxx if this is the future of aviation we might as well stop flying

[Orchyluss]

I dont like it. lol

[Polydynamix]

Environmentally friendly drones. Well excluding the environmental devastation under them.

[DurexDurpaneu2]

Nice! With advancements in nano technology solar power will become a viable source of energy.

[Pringles352]

I LIKE BOATS

[WasteTime4Passwords]

Hell yeah, this is the beginning. Others can build ideas off of this and multi-passenger planes will be along. Maybe not before my life ends, but, it's on the way.

[macintosh311]

Orville and Wilbur Wright would be so proud. Mad scientists create these technologies for global domination, not for civilian comfort and convenience.

[SuperJared1993]

1:10 Jurassic park music!!! OMG!

[ajaxrobinson]

@SuperJared1993 True Romance used it better than Jurassic Park...!

[samosurfer74]

Bullet trains are faster, safer!

[SomeAustralian]

Love the inception music playing in the background.

[tlfettled]

Nice .

[ANTIDALLARD]

What happens when a cloud appears ? That ting drops like a stone ?

[agun17]

Oh shit a cloud!

[selvmordspilot]

I wouldn't wanna fly around the world in that thing. I mean, it'd be all fun and giggles until the planet blocks the sun.

[grizzzlyjoe]

@selvmordspilot Around the world? No restroom.  "Hey Ma, why is the rain yellow?"

[torquemenistan]

What is the name of the song at 1:40?

[RestauranteChines]

If I lived in an African country and had enough money, I would buy one of these, that way I could cross deserts and pay nothing for it.

[erdal0]

can i work on natural gases such as fart?

[andrespereyda]

dang that thing looked fragile. why not just work on anti-gravity, electrostatic propulsion, or something.

[jatigre1]

@andrespereyda You mean: Aetheric Technology

[andrespereyda]

@jatigre1 playing with the ether? why is that better than saying anti-gravity? aetheric technology sounds very general. what is your motive?

[jatigre1]

@andrespereyda Aetheric Technology will eventually change our civilization forever. Anti-gravity is only one of the aspects of this wonderful and marvelous technology. Whenever you see a flying saucer, that's Aetheric Technology! The future belongs to Tesla and the Aether is ancient and forever new!

[andrespereyda]

@jatigre1 aetheric just means having to do with the ether, or space. you're not scientifically explaining anything. you're just toting a word. ??? can i please get an intelligent answer from someone? no offence, but your comments so far are intellectually shallow.

[jatigre1]

@andrespereyda do you want me to spell it out for you? Do your research! I did mine! How can you be so naive?

[andrespereyda]

@jatigre1 ya, i did research and i only came up with aetheric=having to do with the ether. but i'll keep it in mind for you. feel free to teach

[XxMzt4RVLCNRYxX]

UFO 1:03

[Renzoer]

that's not a cloud, much less a plane and no, I do not believe in UFOs

(esa no es una nube ni mucho menos un avion y no, no creo en ovnis)

1:01

[Renzoer]

0:26 Are they pushing the plane?

[BF2superfans]

I say, THIS IS THE FUTURE!

[Robonza]

It would be scary flying that thing at night.

[rjdaredevil]

at 1:02 i see a UFO...lol

RT did you see that ?

[BinaryReader]

its amazing how something so slow can fly. nice one though.

[rolficus]

does solvay mean slow in french

[sniper6081]

That things is really slow.

[JoelBitarProductions]

Jurassic Park soundtrack FTW.



[nutbagbrew102]

it makes sense - new kind of wars in an old world feel - horses pulling cannons - wars will slow down - nukes will have to be trucked by a electric vehicle if they can make it where they are needed - finally war will be more civil and less messy- i like it - lets meet in the middle of the war field drink some wine eat some chesse listen to some bach drop our waepons and go home - peace

[PR0H0LDEM]

Amazing and so beautiful, I wonder if they could combine biofuel and this model, so when the plane rich above the cloud level it would use only solar energy

[mrwrolan]

No money? Ask any person on the street if they would buy a car that requires no fuel cost and without a doubt they'd say yes. So tell me how desire for an object doesn't make it valuable.

[regjoe30]

did anyone bother to read the description? if it's only using 40 hp to do this, why aren't ...... nevermind, the oil companies own us anyways

[legion0101]

god what a day it will be when we say goodbye to oil as energy and all the baggage that goes with it (like the middle east).

getting closer.

[JimbobOMG]

I wonder how long that plane needs to fly to pay for itself.

[ZombieX13]

How much did this waste of existence cost?

[Artistlcle]

@ZombieX13 Didn't cost you a single cent.

Its existence has meaning, yours is the waste.

how much do you cost.

[ZombieX13]

@Artistlcle lol Got myself a real misanthropist here. I didn't ask how much it cost me. I didn't interject myself into the question though I can see why a narcissist like yourself would project in that fashion. And for the record... you can't put a price on a life but I guess it's a bit much for me to expect a boomer to understand much of anything. Thanks for killing the economy and raising a bunch of useless twats though. Better luck next time.

[MendicantBiasMB05032]

Of course this isn't commercially viable though. As oil companies etc would loose a lot of money. GM motors completely stopped the production of an electric car in 2007. Why? Well obviously because it wouldn't be profitable if nobody had to buy fuel. Who knows though, looking at the desperation of western countries particularly the US in their attempts to keep oil flowing by invading any country that slows exports, i would say it is quickly running out, for it is a finite resource is it not?

[andrewsheldonreeves]

this is a really cool plane! I want one.

[MrlLovePancakes]

Sunlight= 1

Oil= 0

[nukeman444]

@kru510 I think you are right.

[odin422]

Fuck that looks hard to land!!!

[yavuzo1]

i can run faster than this

[SocialistMovement]

@yavuzo1

lol xD

[Artistlcle]

@yavuzo1 Can you fly as well?

[skatepeak]

The solar energy solution is either cheap and slooooow

or fast and EXPENSIVE

[deadman12078]

If only we could harness bullshit and use it for power. 

[Artistlcle]

@deadman12078 Strangely enough, our Politicians have been using bullshit as power for years.

Its their standard fuel.

[deadman12078]

@Artistlcle Yes! We must strive to find a way to harvest that vast pool of bullshit and use it for energy.

If shit were worth something. Poor people would be born without assholes.

[UtubeAdminSucksAss]

Wow...what a technological marvel. Now one man can fly at the speed of a jogger.

[gibsonjr11]

to see what a prick alex jones is behind the scenes, check out my channel.........a must see for any jones fan!!!!

[disappearences]

just a perfect day...

[kylevangaalen]

wouldnt want to be in that through a small storm even..... it is definetly too light

[HydroCarbine]

Nearly useless craft for civilians.

SO COOL.. NOW THE MILITARY WILL HAVE MORE MONEY TO SPEND ON DRONES WITH THE SAVED FUEL COST.

Morons, cheer more for Military Industrial Complex funded inventions to bring tyranny.

[asherleiss]

@HydroCarbine The military is not short of money for fuel. This is a beautiful idea.

[jeeraff]

@HydroCarbine or it could be used for flying doctors in australia ,depends on how negative you are ,,PS they already have solar drones moron ,quick everyone its tyranny run everyone run fear is omongst us ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh flmao!!!!

[Axbent]

@HydroCarbine why would it be nearly useless? I bet science would love to get one!

[peepeevagi]

@Axbent It's nearly useless because that's the only way it'll rile up the sheeple.

[peepeevagi]

@HydroCarbine It's not entirely useless. If you could afford one you'd basically be able to fly anywhere for free. It's a massive solar powered glider :D

It's too big to be militarily successful. Too big, too slow, not manuverable enough and it's payload is far too low to carry observation equipment. The military requires it to at least have 1000lbs of a useful payload to even consider it worth investing in.

So, really, you're just full of uninformed sheeple brand shit :3

[SuperPopulist]

@peepeevagi

"be able to fly anywhere for free"

And may I ask where would you park it... back yard :) ?... a back yard with a runway :)?

[peepeevagi]

@SuperPopulist It'd be no different than owning an RV. Sure, you can keep it at home, but most people prefer to store it elsewhere. And it's take off roll was rather short, if you had at least an acre you could take off lol.

[33iknow]

@HydroCarbine Best Comment Ever!

[SomeAustralian]

@HydroCarbine Again with the fucking for virginity. lol.

[Tanjongbungha1]

@HydroCarbine Too right, mate.

[wolfyys]

@HydroCarbine why don't you just live in the stone age?, just about every ground breaking technology was used by the military first.

that includes the computer and the internet

[ajaxrobinson]

@HydroCarbine The first ever plane to carry a person was a single seater... I guess that was a waste of time too?

[tombillbob]

1:10 Jurassic park theme :D

[VTSPQR]

When the sun goes down, so does the plain!

[Lemmingologist]

@VTSPQR plane not plain



[limeitupwithorange]

@VTSPQR really? how are you so smart?

[iEugene1994]

@VTSPQR Actually that plain fly on power from accumulators , they're have their charge from many sun batteries .

[peopleplanetprofits]

@VTSPQR PLANE.

[yourmajezty]

bullshit propaganda

[wilkens411]

@yourmajezty and how theeee fuck is that propaganda ?

[yourmajezty]

@wilkens411 youll see very soon

[BassGoesBoom1]

wings look flimsy as hell

[smasila]

cool

[JimmyFeign]

baaaahaha whats with the Jurassic park music at 1:10??

[YouTheory]

Looks very shaky to me

[CrAzY3AGL3]

sun goes away oh shit :P

[azis1100]

Darpa Vulture > Solvay

[thefloris007]

But than we cannot perform these false flag operations!

[Be3p123]

i wonder what camera shots like 1:27 are for..

[Belka1077]

wtf its going as fast as a bicycle haha

[MrAIRBUSBOY]

i was there today, june 26th, 2010! saw it all.

[wiz22afoo]

@MrAIRBUSBOY oh, 2010, timetravel?

[RunAMuckGirl2]

@wiz22afoo "oh, 2010, timetravel?" LMAO!

[MrAIRBUSBOY]

i was there today, june 26th, 2010

[Xyber04]

Thing probably weighs less than a Honda civic hatchback.

[hitachi088]

@Xyber04 1.5ton

[Xyber04]

@hitachi088 Thats about how much a Honda Civic weighs :)

[Myaucat]

wow, that's awesome!!!! 

history in the making!!

[Tressco]

JPMorgan might try to buy up patent rights or assassinate the inventors. How dare you socialists try to further evolution!

If you can't put a meter on, it can't be! It's in the parasite nature of dehumanized moneychanger monsters, allowed to do any atrocious crime they please without facing charges, ever...

[locolalo1364]

@Tressco "socialists try to further evolution!" lolno.

[SubZero1703]

@Tressco Tesla. Went the same way.

[hitssquad]

@ferozraz23 "no [...] more than 1 gear(tire)."

It has four separate pieces of landing gear: nose, tail, left wing, right wing.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

that approach to the runway was a tad bit shaky!

[nukeman444]

Did you see the UFO! at center top of screen at 1:00 - 1:03 min?

[OnlyBoo1]

@nukeman444 GOOD CALL!

[Blado1988]

slow and gay

[seanyyg]

It looks so frail... Almost as tho a strong wind would TEAR IT APART. Great concept tho, thanks for the video =)

[BNPpatriot]

what about when the sky is cloudy?..what happens then?

[mariss711]

@BNPpatriot Capacitors my friend.....Capacitors.

[hitachi088]

@mariss711 its called battery you stupid ass. capacitor discharge in mili-sec.

[TheRetiredtrucker]

@hitachi088 The batteries are too heavy. thing weighs 1.5 ton from my understanding. no batteries in it...no sun. no energy for props...tho probably able to glide for a while

[Nightzo]

@BNPpatriot

Aeroplanes fly over clouds for normal passenger flights

[gricer1326]

7 Big Oil execs must have watched this.

[xtinct2]

It's going too fast!

[shay33ish]

If a plane can do it then the same can be done with cars and trucks. Why isn't it being done then? Oh yeah there is no money in it!

[SgtPiggie]

@shay33ish

None of the solar powered cars or planes that I have seen could carry a comparable amount of weight, or go as fast as the gas or battery powered vehicles.

[Ristar85]

@SgtPiggie

true, but tech can be improved.

just compare the first aircraft, car, computer, or whatever to all the things we have now.

[hitssquad]

@shay33ish "If a plane can do it then the same can be done with cars and trucks."

How do you figure? All cars and trucks have 207-foot wingspans, and only drive when it's sunny?

[Realjhad]

@shay33ish I have the money and seek no profits, oh wait I cant cause OIL company's hold all the patents.

[Lleanlleawrg]

@IxionVI2 Not to mention the fact that planes are much closer to the sun, and could potentially fly above clouds (probably not this plane, but perhaps if the idea is developed further) thus harvest way more energy and be less dependant on cloudy weather).

[saintearth]

@IxionVI2 Congrats... Way to be defeated.

[marksp22]

@IxionVI2 very ture!



[AmericanN00B]

@shay33ish Not really... Look at the massive wingspan of this plane. It probably collects 100 times more sunlight than an average car would. The plane is extremely small, seats one person, and most importantly is expensive. I believe the Prius has Solar Panels on its roof, and that the energy is just enough to run the AC. Look at the electric cars, they wouldn't be able to charge their batteries with solar panels. If you think otherwise, you can always build one and prove everyone wrong.

[bads06]

@shay33ish I'm guessing it's still on the developmental stages, and besides... damn thing can't fly at night...

[tabarnakdostidcalis]

You often see such planes in the sky ? No ? Well there's reasons to that you idiot.

[666Qtip666]

@shay33ish actually it takes less energy to fly then to drive, you don't have the friction to deal with, and if you didn't notice the wingspan is huge, which makes a very large surface area for solar cells.

[mattyelle1]

@shay33ish Well, its not so simple but in a way you are right. As a mechanical engineer, I have to say alternate energy technology in vehicles has definitely been impeded for quite some time now. The first car invented runned on electricity! An car powered by an electric motor is a much simpler and cheaper design (especially if mass produced like gas powered cars.) My idea would be a car with super-capacity batteries, CVT transmission, regenerative braking & utilize solar power to the fullest.

[tamick21]

@shay33ish I rather have a flying solar car than a solar car brah

[Brandan09997]

@shay33ish The retarded peris or whatever its called does it.

[spd21]

@shay33ish This essentially is a glider that can only carry one person. It is made out of high tec materials that can only be produced by burning a fuck load of fossil fuels. There is a load of money in it as every retarded green will want one. It is not being done because even retarded greens take the airbus.

[offmyface1]

how can someone dislike this, 137 likes 6 dislikes. that means 3 percent of people are completely fucked up.

[Tigerpaws9097826]

Let us hope that soon enough, this technology can be applied to larger commercial aircraft; that'd be fantastic. It's encouraging to know that some consortium of inventors, flight specialists, and business people have gotten this far.

[chop98]

Somebody change that poor pilot's pants! You know he was skipping a beat when the nose dipped at the landing. :) And what are these people thinking using this money for a better planet?! They should be like the banksters and thinking of empire building and how to destroy humanity! The nerve of people looking into the future. Hmph. Of course I'm being sarcastic before anybody writes back and tries to give me the throttle. :)

[99cacahuate]

no thank you!!! i will use my bicycle...it's safer and may be faster too....

[Littlefoot3559]

Did i hear jurassic park music?? maybe they need to put this in jurassic park 4.

[sohcsarewicked]

@Littlefoot3559 I think it was music from the video on youtube called "Earthlings - Full length documentary (multi-subtitles)" check that one out