Solar Impulse - Outside

It gave the impression of wanting to get off straightaway The Prototype under Open Skies

Hustle and bustle at Dübendorf airport. The sky clears off, the sun begins to shine. It is almost calm - the perfect weather for a first cautious roll-out. The prototype, which is around 22 meters long, is pulled out of the hangar. Once outside, the Solar Impulse team assembles the vertical tail with its 4.6 meters, it is too high to be driven out straight. As the ultra-light airplane - weighing just 1,600 kilos - is made of expensive, hand-made components, every move has to be perfectly executed. Finally, the airplane is towed to the testing area on the runway. The four motors with 10 HP each are powered for the first time under open skies. To facilitate the engineers work, the gondolas are not yet cased. Also the cockpit is for now some sort of a cage, which is to protect test pilot Markus Scherdel just in case if the wing was to break, for example. Today, the prototype passes its tests successfully. André Borschberg: It wont be long now before we release the brakes and let the HB-SIA roll its first few meters.

Category:

Science & Technology

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• hbsia
• hbsib
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• solar
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• Outside

[baldes]

When is planned the first taxing and take off ?