Solar Aircraft Begins Virtual Flight Today

Solar Aircraft Begins Virtual Flight Today – Check It Out Live

By Dave Demerjian May 12, 2008 | 7:00:00 AM

"In a world dependent on fossil energies, Solar Impulse is a paradox, almost a provocation."

Press release gobbledygook? Absolutely. But you've got to give it up for any company with the guts to try designing and building a true solar airplane.

We've written about Solar Impulse -- it's a consortium of European financial and technology parters led by the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. The group is working on a solar-powered plane that can take off under its own power without generating any emissions at all. The general idea is that sunlight would not only power the plane during the day but would also charge its lithium batteries, allowing it to fly around the clock pollution free.

Solar Impulse hopes to send its HB-SIA prototype on its first test flight next year, and in preparation is conducting a virtual flight in its new cockpit simulator. The cool part is that they've wired the simulator up with webcams so people can watch the test live.

Known as Virtual Flight 08, the simulation will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time today (May 12) at Solar Impulse's hanger in Dubendorf. Two pilots will take turns at the controls on test flights that last 25 hours each, and Brian Jones, a Solar Impact techie perhaps best known for circling the earth in a balloon, will blog hourly about the simulation and take questions online.

The Solar Impulse people see this virtual flight as key to the development of the HB-SIA. Using a life-size cockpit model decked out with five panoramic screens, the simulation will allow Solar Impulse to test the plane's ergonomics and verify that its interface functions properly. The mission simulator uses elaborate algorithms to simulate breakdowns, real meteorological conditions and other incidents, which will sharpen the pilots' skills by forcing them to react on the fly.

You can see Virtual Flight 08 live -- we'll be watching too, and reporting back, but check it out and let us know what you think.