Project Introduction Solar impulse

Solar Impulse is the brainchild of Swiss aviators, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. Their aim is to fly a solar-powered airplane around the world by 2015.
The piloted aircraft does not resemble a typical airplane. It has the wingspan of an Airbus but is around 100 times lighter. Probably the most remarkable aspect of Solar Impulse is that its only source of energy is the sunlight. And because the wingspan needs to accommodate an extremely large number of solar collection cells, there was considerable concern within the team over just how large a wingspan it could design.

With an understanding of the physics of flight, power-to-weigh, ratio, and the help of 3D engineering software similar to that used in Building Information Modeling (BIM), the design for the first prototype, Solar Impulse HB-SIA, was completed in 2009. While existing technologies were used for developing the prototype, its successor, Solar Impulse HB-SIB, was made from new materials and created with cutting-edge construction methods.

They made it! So proud to be a Main Partner!;

They made it! Solar Impulse succeeded in their crazy dream of achieving the first ever Round-The-World Solar Flight. By landing back in Abu Dhabi after a total of 21 days of flight and 42’000 km travelled in a 17 leg journey, SI has proven that clean technologies can achieve the impossible.

Coming from Egypt, Bertrand Piccard landed in Abu Dhabi on 26 July 2016 completing the final leg of an endeavor that was until now considered impossible – flying around the globe in an electric airplane powered only by the sun and capable of flying many days and nights in a row without fuel.

This landing brings full circle the historic circumnavigation that began on 9 March 2015 when SI set off from Abu Dhabi.

Taking turns in the single-seater 3.8m3 cockpit, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg have flown SI around the world in 17 legs, crossing Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the USA, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. A total of 19 world records were set, in particular when André Borschberg accomplished the pioneering first of flying five consecutive days and nights over the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii in the longest duration a solo airplane of any kind has ever flown and when Bertrand Piccard achieved the historic first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.The accomplishment is a dream that was considered impossible by many experts and the demonstration that renewable energies and efficient technologies offer tangible solutions for sustainability.”The drive behind the Solar Impulse mission was to demonstrate how innovation and a pioneering spirit can change the world,” said Thomas Oetterli, CEO of Schindler. “That is why Schindler was a main partner in the Solar Impulse project. We share this spirit of vision and innovation for the future. As a leading global manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walks, Schindler is pushing the boundaries of how people view mobility in the cities of tomorrow.”Sustainable solutions are critical as the cities of today grow exponentially in size and population. For Schindler, the partnership was the perfect embodiment of our ongoing investment in innovative technology for sustainable mobility. It is proof of what is possible when we place no limits on our imaginations and work together towards a common goal. By embedding Schindler engineers in the Solar Impulse project, Schindler wanted to strengthen scientific networking between two organizations that share similar values and goals. Schindler’s aim with the project was but will also be in the future to follow and support cutting-edge technology in the field of clean and sustainable mobility.

Source: Schindler.com