"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in
:


By Alton K. Marsh

Now under construction in Switzerland is a four-motor aircraft
destined to serve as the prototype of a fragile piloted airplane that
will circle the globe on solar power alone.

It will climb during the day to nearly 28,000 feet and descend at
night to 3,300 feet. The combined power of the four motors is only 10
horsepower. The cockpit is unpressurized and unheated; engineers are
hoping insulation will protect the pilot at the higher altitudes.
First it must fly, then cross the Atlantic Ocean.

By 2011 it is hoped the pioneer, Bertrand Piccard, who circled the
globe in the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, will be able to do the same
in his Solar Impulse aircraft, although it will take a month (slower
than the balloon).

--

Isn't 3,300 cutting it kind of close? Also they really need to come up
with a better class name than "fragile piloted airplane."


Last I heard of this, he was waiting for a couple of tech advances
before he proceeded. One was material. He was hoping that nanotubes
would come of age but since they haven't, he must have found something
else. Then of course, he needed a leap in solar cell technology, but
that's been moving along as has electric motor technology.

Good luck to him! It'll be one of the biggest tech leaps made in a very
long time


Bertie