Aircraft

The latest design iteration of the solar-powered Solar Impulse aircraft has been unveiled by its Swiss based development team.

The €40 million ($50 million) single-pilot, 80m (262ft)-wingspan all-composite aircraft is expected to make its maiden flight in 2008. With 250m² (2,690ft²) of solar panels across its upper surface, the propeller-driven aircraft would gain altitude during the day and store power and then glide during the night. Currently in a preliminary design phase, Dassault and the European Space Agency are two of the 14 organisations aiding the effort.

The 2,000kg (4,400lb)-mass aircraft has three designated pilots, Solar Impulse’s project director André Borschberg and balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. Jones and Piccard were co-pilots on the 1999 Breitling Orbiter balloon non-stop flight around the Earth.

“We would like to fly from New York to Le Bourget, like Charles Lindbergh, and we think we could fly, not non-stop, but around the world in 20 days,” says Borschberg.

Of the €40 million needed to de­velop and construct the prototype, €10 million has been raised. Solar Impulse will not disclose the funding source, but Belgian industrial group Solvay was named at the show as the first main sponsor.