Solar Impulse 2 successfully takes off from Varanasi, on way to Myanmar

VARANASI: Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the solar powered aircraft on its maiden round the world flight, took off from Varanasi a few minutes ago. It’s next halt is Mandalay in Myanmar. The sector is piloted by Bertrand Piccard.

The Solar Impulse (Si2) aircraft had landed in Varanasi on Wednesday evening.

The zero-fuel airplane, which landed in Ahmedabad on March 10 around midnight and was stationed for six days, maintained a minimum altitude of around 5,200 metres on its flight to Varanasi.

The Si2 has been built to fly around the world without a drop of fuel. It is also designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of clean technologies and the importance of sustainability.

The aircraft took off from Muscat on March 9 and flew over Pakistan before it entered Indian airspace over the Arabian Sea towards Gujarat, an official of the Aditya Birla Group, which hosted the flight in Ahmedabad, was quoted as saying.

Its 17,248 solar cells and four lithium batteries, weighing 633 kg, supply the electric motors with enough renewable energy for a 24×7 flight, up to an altitude of 8,500 metres – less than the height of Mount Everest which stands at 8,848 metres.

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Source:Timesofindia

Si2