Solar planes continue their journey around the world

According to AFP news agency, Solar Impulse 2 (SI2), the first generation solar powered aircraft in the world, has continued to take off from Hawaii (USA) on April 21, 2016 to complete. record of flying around the world without using a single drop of fuel.

The aircraft is fully powered by solar power and is controlled by a seasoned pilot, Swiss explorer Eugene Tanner and Frankie Taggart partner.Solar Impulse 2 took off from Kalaeloa airport at 6:15 am (GMT) after having to delay 75 minutes due to strong winds.

"Great! We flew into the sky," Eugene - now 58 - shouted excitedly as the plane was leaving the runway. In addition to the joy of exploration and discovery, Eugene is also a renowned doctor in the city of Los Angeles.

Portrait of Solar Impulse 2 with giant wingspan.

He posted a status line on Twitter to share his thoughts on the long road ahead: "Taking off is the most exciting moment. But there must still be many unexpected emotions waiting for us ahead. ".

Earlier, the SI2 plane had to make an emergency landing in July last year when it had completed half of its journey around the world because of a battery problem.

The crew took several months to repair aircraft damage due to the high temperature and humidity of the Pacific region.

Solar Impulse 2 is mainly made of carbon fiber. It has 17,248 solar cells on its wings to power 4 lithium polymer batteries. These panels are fitted to the body and wingspan of the aircraft. This aircraft weighs more than 2 tons and has an aircraft wing up to 72m long, equivalent to the wingspan of Airbus A380 aircraft.

Solar Impulse 2's "forerunner" is Solar Impulse , the record-breaking aircraft that made a 26-hour flight in 2010. In 2014, the Solar Impulse also flew through Europe, via the Mediterranean to Morocco and cross the US without using any fossil fuels.

Solar Impulse 2's round-the-world flight in March 2015 starts from the Gulf to take advantage of low cloud conditions in the Middle East and there will be several stops. The aircraft will cross the Arabian Sea to India, Myanmar and China.

Next, the aircraft will cross the Pacific, fly over the United States, the Atlantic Ocean, Southern Europe and finally North Africa before returning to the starting point.

Here is information about Solar Impulse 2's journeys:

1. March 9, 2015: From Abu Dhabi (the capital of the United Arab Emirates, UAE) to Muscat (Oman) - 441km takes 13 hours 1 minute.
2. March 10: From Muscat (Oman) to Ahmedabad (India) - 1,468km, takes 15 hours 20 minutes.
3. March 18: From Ahmedabad (India) to Varanasi (India) - 1,215km, taking 13 hours and 15 minutes.
4. March 19: From Varanasi (India) to Mandalay (Myanmar) - 1,398km, takes 13 hours and 29 minutes.
5. March 29: From Mandalay (Myanmar) to Chongqing (China) - 1,459km, takes 20 hours and 29 minutes.
6. April 21: From Chongqing (China) to Nanjing (China) - 1,241km, taking 17 hours 22 minutes.

Solar Impulse 2 is capable of performing flights at night.

Because the Solar Impulse 2's maximum speed is only about 40m / s and even slower to conserve energy, it takes 4 to 5 days for the journey from Japan to Hawaii. With a Boeing 777, the maximum speed reaches 268m / sec, only need about 8.5 hours to complete the distance of 4,000 miles.

Initially, SI2 will not fly to Japan, but due to the bad weather, the plane is forced to drop by Japan and then cross the Pacific to Hawaii.

Solar Impulse 2 has the ability to fly at night because it is equipped with a technology that allows it to store batteries from daytime. However, in order to store batteries for night activities, the aircraft must fly during the day under sunny and windy conditions.

Solar-powered flights are often slow, expensive and appear to be incompatible with reality at this time. But Borschberg and co-founder Bertrand Piccard say they see the potential of the aircraft when it comes to ecotourism because it is environmentally friendly.