Solar powered aircraft makes landing in Varanasi - Fusion

The Solar Impulse (Si2) craft, battery-powered entirely by the sun, landed in Varanasi on Wednesday evening.

Taking off at 7.18 am from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport in bright sunshine, the Si2 finished the 1,128 kilometre flight to Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri field in over thirteen hours, landing there around 8.40 pm.

“This is the first airplane to fly one week, one month…it’s unlimited.

The plane uses so little energy that with the energy we collect during the day from the sun, we can fly through the night,” Andre Borschberg told reporters after landing at Varanasi airport.

The aircraft has a weight of 2,300 kilograms and has a wingspan of width equal to the largest airliner. It took 12 years to complete the design and construction of the Solar Impulse.

The ecofriendly airplane which uses no fuel has landed in Ahmedabad on March 10 approximately at the time of midnight and was stationed for six days.

The flight maintained a minimum altitude of around 5,200 meters on its flight to Varanasi.

It has 17,248 solar cells and four lithium batteries, weighing 633 kg supplying it with renewable energy for a 24 x 7 flight.

Foto di Luidmila Kot da Pixabay(Free for Commercial Use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/aeromobili-aereo-motore-volo-5439324/