First in the world The round-the-world non-stop flight took place in 1949.
The strategic bomber of the 43rd Bombardment Group of the US Army Air Forces Boeing B-50 Superfortress with a crew of 14 people took off from Caswell Air Force Base (Fort Worth, Texas) on February 26.
The plane returned to the same airfield on March 2, covering a distance of 37,742 km in 94 hours and 1 minute. The average speed was 401 km/h. During the flight, the bomber's fuel reserves were replenished four times with the help of tanker aircraft.
First non-stop flight around the globe without refueling flown December 14–23, 1986 by Dick Rutan and Gina Eager in a Rutan Model 76 Voyager.
The aircraft, powered by two piston engines, was built by aircraft designer Burt Rutan specifically to set the record. The flight lasted 216 hours, 3 minutes and 44 seconds. In total, the aircraft covered 42,432 km with an average speed of 186.11 km/h.
On March 1–3, 2005, entrepreneur and pilot Steve Fossett set the world record on his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. speed record non-stop manned flight around the world without refueling.
The turbojet-powered single-seat aircraft, built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites company, circumnavigated the Earth in 67 hours, 1 minute and 46 seconds. The average flight speed was 590.7 km/h, the plane covered a distance of 36,912 km.
Flight duration records
First in the series high-profile Soviet records The duration of air travel was achieved by the crew of Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baidukov and Alexander Belyakov.
On July 20–22, 1936, they flew from Moscow to the Far Eastern island of Udd (now Chkalov Island, Khabarovsk region). The aircraft covered 9,374 km in 56 hours and 20 minutes.
On July 12–14, 1937, the crew of Mikhail Gromov, Andrei Yumashev and Sergei Danilin on the ANT-25 improved the achievements of their colleagues by completing a non-stop flight over a distance of 11,500 km in 62 hours and 17 minutes along the route Moscow - San Jacinto (California, USA).
Their record was broken in November 1938 when two RAF Vickers Wellesley bombers flew 11,539 km non-stop between Egypt and New Australia.
Record piloting duration aircraft with refueling was installed in 1959 in the USA.
Robert Timm and John Cook took off from McCarran Airport (Las Vegas, Nevada) on December 4, 1958 in a specially prepared Cessna 172 light aircraft. The aircraft circled the airfield non-stop for 64 days 22 hours 19 minutes 5 seconds and made a soft landing on February 5, 1959. The aircraft was refueled in the air twice a day using a fuel tanker moving around the airfield.
The record for the longest piloting an aircraft without refueling installed in 2015 during Andre Borschberg's round-the-world flight on the Solar Impulse 2 electric plane.
In the period from June 28 to July 3, on the Nagoya (Japan) - Hawaii (USA) section, Borschberg covered a distance of 7,212 km in 117 hours and 52 minutes. At the same time, he set a record for distance non-stop flight for electric aircraft. The round-the-world flight itself was interrupted due to problems with the aircraft's batteries.
Longest flight record unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) installed by the QinetiQ Zephyr 7 at the US Army Yuma Proving Ground (Arizona). The UAV stayed in the air for two weeks - 336 hours 22 minutes and 8 seconds.
Longest non-stop scheduled flights
As of June 2017, the longest nonstop flight in the world is operated by the Qatari airline Qatar Airways on the Auckland route ( New Zealand) - Doha (Qatar).
"TASS/Ruptly"
The first flight was carried out on February 6, 2017. The flight uses a long-haul wide-body passenger aircraft Boeing 777-200LR. It covers the 14,524 km distance between Auckland and Doha in 17 hours 30 minutes.
The longest non-stop flight among Russian carriers is operated by Aeroflot. This is flight SU106 on the route Moscow - Los Angeles (USA) with a length of 9781 km. Long-haul wide-body aircraft Airbus A330-200 overcome it in 12 hours 50 minutes.
Air carrier Singapore Airlines plans to receive the ultra-long-range wide-body passenger aircraft Airbus A350-900ULR in 2018. It is expected that these machines will be used for non-stop flights from Singapore to New York (USA) over a record distance of 15,348 km.
The material was prepared according to TASS-Dossier data.
100 great records of aviation and astronautics Zigunenko Stanislav Nikolaevich
Flights around the world
Flights around the world
The idea of ultra-long-distance non-stop flights, as mentioned above, originated back in the 30s of the 20th century. Our famous pilot V.P. Chkalov even dreamed of “flying around the ball” - that is, flying around the globe without landing.
It turns out that these were not just dreams. Pilots M.M. Gromov and G.F. Baidukov, designers A.N. Tupolev, A.D. Charomsky, A.S. Moskalev and others became participants in one of the most daring projects of that time. Not many people now know that in 1936–1941, with their active participation, an ultra-long flight of the ANT-25 aircraft was prepared along the 56th parallel (latitude of Moscow) with a length of 22,500 km.
The ANT-25 was to be equipped with a 2000-horsepower AN-1 diesel engine, developed at the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering. In terms of efficiency, it had no equal: specific fuel consumption was half that of the then and current gasoline carburetor engines - 0.140–0.145 kg/l. With. hour versus 0.24–0.28 kg/l. With. hour. And since diesel is cheaper than gasoline, the gains were even greater.
But the war prevented this expedition from being carried out.
However, abroad, something in this direction managed to be carried out even before the war. So, back in 1924, from April 4 to September 28, the first round-the-world flight was made on two Douglas DWC aircraft. True, at first 4 aircraft started from Seattle (Washington State). But two of them dropped out along the way due to technical problems.
And only aircraft No. 2 Chicago and aircraft No. 4 New Orleans reached the finish line, piloted respectively by the crews of Lowell Smith and Leslie Arnold, as well as Eric Nelson and John Harding Jr.
For 175 days, the aircraft covered a distance of 44,340 km. At the same time, the net flight time was 371 hours 11 minutes.
Then all the male pilots were surrounded by a woman. The Englishwoman V. Bruce, on the Blackburn Bluebird IV, made the first flight around the world in a light aircraft from September 25, 1930 to February 20, 1931. Of course, during the flight the pilot made many stopovers: in Istanbul, Baghdad, Karachi, Rangoon, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seattle, Vancouver, New York, Plymouth, Le Bourget and Croydon, but still completed the journey she had begun. to end.
By the way, relatively recently, American pilot Jerry Mock made a similar flight. In March - April 1964, she circled the globe in 29 days on a Cessna 180 Spirit of Columbus light aircraft, ending her flight with a landing at the airfield in Columbus (Ohio).
But the men were already following Bruce. First, a record round-the-world flight lasting 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes was made from June 23 to July 1, 1931 by pilot Willie Post and his navigator Harold Gatti on a Lockheed Vega (Winnie May) aircraft.
And only after this, Willie Post, on a Lockheed Vega Monoplane, which he named “Winnie May,” made a male solo flight around the world on July 15–22, 1933. Taking off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York, he flew a distance of 25,099 km in 7 days 18 hours 49 minutes.
Then Elgen Long, in a twin-engine Piper Navajo airplane, made the first round-the-world flight through the Earth's poles. Between November 5 and December 3, 1971, it covered a total distance of 62,597 kilometers in 215 flight hours. Moreover, when flying over Antarctica, the temperature in the aircraft cabin dropped to -40 °C.
In July 1978, the first flight around the world in two light aircraft was made by Frank Hale Jr. with co-pilot Walter J. Hedren and William G. Wisner with co-pilot Bruce C. Wisner in Beach Bonanzas. The US National Aeronautics Association officially registered this achievement and issued a certificate to the pilots certifying that the aircraft covered a distance of 38,380 kilometers in 159.91 hours of pure flight time.
The first round-the-world flight in a single-engine aircraft through the Earth's poles was made in 1987 by Richard Norton and Kalin Rossetti. Having taken off on a Piper RA-46-ZYUR Malibu plane on January 21 from Le Bourget, the pilots completed the flight there on June 15, covering a distance of 55,268 kilometers in 185 hours 41 minutes of flight time.
But the first aircraft to make a “clean” non-stop flight around the world without refueling was the Voyager from Voyager Aircraft Inc. It was a trimaran-monoplane with a high relative aspect ratio of the wing, built from composite materials according to the design of Bart Rutan. Launching on December 14, 1986 from Edwards Air Force Base, Voyager, piloted by Bart's brother Dick Rutan and his partner Gina Yager, returned there 9 days 3 minutes 44 seconds later. Thus, absolute world records for flight range along a straight line and along a circular route were immediately set, equal to 40,212.139 km.
By the way, in the same 1986, in 33 hours, the Concorde plane also flew around the globe, taking off and then landing in Lisbon. The interesting thing is that during the flight he constantly overtook the night and flew only in daylight. It's been such a long day.
Nowadays, the Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner, which was presented to the public on February 15, 2005, is claiming the role of the longest-range airliner. According to the press release, it is capable of carrying 301 passengers over a maximum distance of 17,446 km. That is, in fact, the Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner is capable of connecting any two cities on the planet, eliminating the need for transfers.
Finally, in March 2007, the famous American businessman and traveler Steve Fossett is known to have set a new record. Previously, he flew around the globe alone in a hot air balloon, and now he did the same on an airplane.
First, he traveled around the world on a yacht. Then in 2002, after a series unsuccessful attempts got into the Guinness Book of Records by flying around the globe alone in 14 days in a balloon. And finally, I decided to make the same trip by plane.
First, he tried to buy and convert a decommissioned Concorde supersonic passenger plane for this purpose. However, the deal did not take place. Some say this happened because the sellers asked too much for the old plane. Others say that, after reflection, Fossett decided not to buy it himself - it is difficult to pilot such a colossus alone; and this aircraft giant is painfully gluttonous.
And then he went the beaten path - he turned to the designer of the record Voyager aircraft, Bart Rutan, asking him to remake Voyager for a solo flight. After some thought, Bart Rutan abandoned the idea of alteration, citing the fact that it would be impossible for one person to withstand more than a week's flight. And he proposed to create a new, faster aircraft that could make a similar flight 2-3 times faster.
Assembly of the aircraft began in September 2002. At the same time, the only metal structures on the plane (not counting the electronics and the engine) were the aluminum landing gear and engine mount.
Everything else was made of carbon fiber and other composites. As a result, 83% of the weight was fuel. (By the way, Voyager had a fuel weight component of 72%.)
While flight tests of the aircraft were underway, Steve Fossett himself was preparing for the flight. Firstly, despite his 60 years, he ran up to 8 miles every morning to maintain his physical fitness, and also regularly improved his flying skills. Secondly, at his request, nutritionists developed a special menu for the flight, which consisted mainly of a chocolate-protein fortified cocktail, the dry mixture of which had to be diluted with milk during the flight. A dry closet the size of a desk drawer was placed in the cockpit, and the pilot's seat itself was folded out so that the pilot could control the flight while lying down most of the way. Of course, the autopilot was not forgotten either, which could independently guide the plane, requesting its coordinates from the GPS system and adjusting the route in such a way that tailwinds made it possible to increase the flight speed by 90–180 or more kilometers per hour.
And so on March 3, 2005, Steve Fossett carefully dispersed the “flying tank” along a 5-kilometer runway Salina airfield in California and lifted the overloaded car into the air. The most dangerous phase of the flight was overcome.
Then it was easier. Although it was not without its troubles. Either the navigation system malfunctioned, or the fuel consumption turned out to be more than calculated (1180 kg inexplicably disappeared somewhere - perhaps they evaporated through microcracks in the tank) ... So the pilot did not sleep at all for the last 24 hours, he was worried and worried. They say that he even took special medications to keep his body in good shape. But on the last liters of fuel, he still reached the same runway where he started, ending his flight 67 hours and 2 minutes after the start.
In the future, the same Fossett intended to try to fly around the world in a glider, completely without fuel. However, his premature death during preparations for the next expedition in early 2008 put an end to this project.
However, Fossett was not alone in his desire. There is also an idea to lay out the flight route strictly along the equator or, conversely, along the meridian through both poles. Finally, there is a proposal from our designer and athlete V. Belokon to organize round-the-world races on aircraft of this type, just as cruising yachts now sail around the globe. Fortunately, there are already projects.
“Several years ago we were offered to create a better machine than Rutanov’s,” said E. G. Komelev, design engineer at the Myasishchev Electromechanical Plant. “Our aircraft should make such flights not a feat, but a daily routine.”
According to the EMZ project, the aircraft should have a two-boom design (it has already been tested in the creation of high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft M-17 and M-55) and have the following characteristics: wingspan - 31.88 m; fuselage length -9.5 m; weight - 5300 kg, and about 4 thousand kg of them will be for fuel.
Will it be better than Rutanovsky? It's not easy to answer. Our designers do not yet have sufficient experience in using the latest materials. And will such an aircraft be able to cover the planned route Moscow - Odessa - Bosphorus - Gibraltar - Panama - Indonesia - Red Sea - Iran - Caspian Sea - Moscow without landing? total length 40,500 km in 7 days, only time will tell.
But in general, as you can see, humanity does not intend to rest on its laurels.
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From the author's bookWalking around the world On a fine Sunday morning on September 27, 1898, the streets of Riga were unusually lively - cries of “Hurray” were heard and general rejoicing reigned. This is how Riga welcomed its citizen Konstantin Rengarten, who was completing his round-the-world walking journey. Under
From the author's bookFlights continue Successful flights in Paris encouraged balloonists in other countries. The first balloons also appeared in Germany, England, Spain... In November 1783, such a flight took place in Russia. Meanwhile, in France, air travel is becoming more and more
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From the author's bookAround the old world in 1497. In Portugal, King Manuel I, later called the Happy, had just ascended the throne. Five years ago, Columbus discovered the western route to India. The Portuguese were in a hurry to seize trade routes from the east, and the king ordered an armada to be sent to India. This
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January 11, 1935 American pilot Amelia Earhart committed a single flight across the Pacific Ocean, which no one in the world had ever managed before. This was the peak of the career of the brave American, her most impressive achievement, which transferred Earhart to the category of legends. And today we will tell you about ten of the most iconic and famous air records throughout the history of aviation.
The history of aviation records is unthinkable without the achievements achieved by the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903. On this day, they made the world's first four flights on the Wright Flyer, each of which was a record in terms of range and duration compared to the previous ones. As a result, we settled on 260 meters and 59 seconds.
On May 20-21, 1927, American pilot Charles Lindbergh made a flight that remains the most famous in the history of world aviation. He took off from New York on a plane with the poetic name “Spirit of St. Louis”, and 33.5 hours later landed at Le Bourget Airport near Paris. This was the first solo flight across Atlantic Ocean.
The next aviation record of this magnitude was set only in 1935 by Amelia Earhart. The brave American, in her Vega 5b aircraft, was the first in the world to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean, starting from Hawaii and landing 18 hours and 16 minutes later in Oakland, California. On July 2, 1937, Earhart died while trying to fly an airplane around the globe.
At that time, the Soviet Union had its own star pilot, very comparable in popularity to the Americans Lindbergh and Earhart. We are talking about Valery Chkalov, who on June 18-20, 1937, as part of the Chkalov-Baidukov-Belyakov crew, made a transcontinental flight from Moscow to the American city of Portland, Vancouver, flying through the Northern Arctic Ocean and the North Pole.
On January 16-18, 1957, three American B-52B heavy bombers made the world's first non-stop flight around the world. During the flight, they refueled three times from a refueling aircraft. In 45 hours and 19 minutes, these stratospheric fortresses (as their nickname Stratofortress is translated into Russian) covered a distance of 39,165 kilometers by air.
Sometimes the fact of setting a new record becomes a record in itself. For example, a similar thing happened on March 22, 1989 with an airplane, which during a 3.5-hour flight immediately set 110 new world achievements, such as maximum cargo weight, maximum take-off weight, as well as speed, altitude and flight range records for aircraft of this type. type.
Bertrand Piccard was born into a great family. His grandfather Auguste and father Jacques became famous for their famous submersible dive to the bottom Mariana Trench, many of his relatives are famous conquerors of the air and stratosphere. And Bertrand himself did not make a mistake. In 1999, he and Briton Brian Jones made the first ever flight around the world. hot-air balloon. In 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes, they covered a distance of 45,755 kilometers on the Breitling Orbiter 3.
On October 4, 2004, American pilot Brian Binney made the highest flight in aviation history on SpaceShipOne. He raised his aircraft to a height of just over 112 kilometers above the Earth's surface, thereby breaking the boundary between the atmosphere and space.
Longest flight by plane
The time has come for new aviation records. Classic aircraft, of course, continue to develop, but much more promising and interesting are aircrafts with alternative energy sources. The first such famous aircraft was the Solar Impulse, on which Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg flew in May-June 2013 from west coast United States of America to the east, from San Francisco to New York. In the future, they plan to cross the Atlantic on Solar Impulse, and then travel around the world.Trip around the world by plane Four Seasons Jet
The first trip around the world on a Four Seasons aircraft took place in 2012. Now the plane - designed to carry 52 "high value" Boeing 757 passengers - flies on several designed routes with two- to three-day stops in various cities. During them, travelers live in Four hotels Seasons. However, fans of long-distance wanderings will be no less comfortable on board the aircraft than in the rooms of hotels of the famous chain: the aircraft is equipped with fully reclining chairs made of white leather by the Italian company Iacobucci with a Bose personal multimedia system. Passengers also enjoy hand-woven Mongolian cashmere blankets, Bulgari beauty kits, a personalized chef's menu and concierge services.
There are several options for traveling around the world: for example, one includes stops in popular tourist cities like New York or Tokyo, and the other - in the exotic, like the Thai Chiang Mai. There are also thematic tours: for example, to cities with rich cultural heritage like Prague, Milan and Paris. The next Four Seasons Jet around the world trip will begin this August in Seattle and will include two to three day stops in Tokyo, Beijing, the Maldives, Tanzanian national park Serengeti, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Marrakech and New York. True, there are no more places left for 2015, but there is still a chance to be on a round-the-world trip next year. Four new routes are already planned for 2016. The cost of round-the-world travel starts from $119,000 per person, subject to accommodation in a double room. You will need to pay extra for single occupancy.
Hot air balloon flight over Myanmar
You can admire the ancient pagodas on the territory of the now destroyed city of Bagan and the picturesque banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River in Myanmar during a hot air balloon flight. Such flights are arranged, for example, by the company Balloons over Bagan, created by the spouses Brett Meltzer and Khin Omar Vin in 1999. An eight-passenger premium balloon flight lasts from 45 minutes to an hour. The price also includes a transfer from the hotel and back, as well as a light breakfast with champagne. Premium flight prices are $380 per person and may increase during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Order The tour is available at the company's central office in Yangon.Travel around South-East Asia by Eastern & Oriental Express train
The Eastern & Oriental Express train operates on routes connecting Thailand, Laos, Singapore and Malaysia. The train's carriages are decorated with teak wood, and each compartment has air conditioning, a private bathroom and huge windows. Breakfast is served daily in the compartment, and you can have lunch and dinner in one of two dining cars. There is live music in the bar car in the evenings, and there is an observation car at the rear of the train. The cost of tours depends on the chosen route. For example, a two-day trip from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok will cost from $2,280 per person, and a four-day trip along the Bangkok route
— Kuala Lumpur — Singapore — from $2690.The most expensive tours are New Year's and Fables of Peninsula. New Year's Eve lasts four days and three nights. The train passes along the route Singapore
— Kuala Lumpur — Bangkok. Along the way, passengers stop in the Malaysian city of Butterworth, from where they can take a ferry to Penang Island and visit the city of Georgetown there, as well as on one of the Thai beaches, where, in fact, they meet New Year. The cost of such a trip is from $4140 per person. The Peninsula Myths tour lasts seven days and eight nights and costs from $7,900. The journey begins in Singapore, and the route takes you through Kuala Lumpur, the picturesque Cameron Mountains, Penang Island, which is also visited by train passengers, and the Thai beach town of Ban Huai Yang. Travel on the Eastern & Oriental Express is organized by Belmond, on whose website you can book a trip.Visit a penguin colony in Antarctica
Antarctica is one of the most interesting places planet, and a trip there will definitely be “the trip of a lifetime.” The organization of such trips is carried out by various travel companies around the world - for example, the British White Desert or the Russian Poseidon Expeditions. The first offers a nine-day tour with a visit to the emperor penguin colony and a flight to the South Pole. During the tour, travelers live in a special camp, additional activities such as rock climbing or ski kiting can be organized for them, and at the South Pole they take a tour of the American Amundsen Research Station
— Scott. The cost of this trip is €62,000 per person, and it includes flights from Cape Town, South Africa to Antarctica.You can also see the penguin colony during cruises organized by Poseidon Expeditions from November to March. Cruises take place on the luxury ship Sea Spirit and last from 11 to 13 days. During the cruise, travelers sail through the Drake Passage, the picturesque Lemar Strait, disembark at the former British research station Port Lockroy, now a museum, and on Deception Island, where one of the largest penguin colonies is located. Optionally, you can book kayaking or overnight camping - both of these services can be paid or free depending on the cruise program. The cost of such a trip starts from $8856. One of the cruises takes place in New Year holidays and, according to the managers of Poseidon Expeditions, is very popular among our compatriots - for a group of 114 people there are 20
-30 Russian passengers.Drive through Germany and Switzerland in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse
For lovers of high speeds and expensive cars The international company Global Racing Schools is organizing a five-day motor rally across Germany and Switzerland in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. The tour starts in Stuttgart and takes you through the Black Forest, along the shores of Lake Constance and through Baden-Baden. Travelers will be able to drive the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for about 700 km. The program also includes visits to museums of the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz automobile brands, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC, limousine transfer from Stuttgart airport to the hotel, as well as accommodation in five-star hotels during the trip. The cost of the tour is €64,350 for two people.
The solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2, flying around the world, has completed the longest and most difficult stage of its circumnavigation - the flight to the Hawaiian Islands from Nanjing, China.
The difficult stage of a trip around the world
The landing in Hawaii marks the end of the eighth leg of Solar Impulse 2's round-the-world flight, which began its round-the-world journey on March 9, 2015 in Abu Dhabi. He has already visited Oman, India, Myanmar, China and Japan.
The longest segment of the journey turned out to be more difficult than originally planned. Back in May, the organizers planned to fly across the Pacific Ocean. At first, the team waited a long time for departure due to unfavorable weather conditions. Then, just as Borschberg was flying to Kalaeloa, an approaching weather front forced him to land in Nagoya, Japan.
A few weeks later, we managed to complete this mission and fly from Japan to Hawaiian Islands. Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg landed the aircraft on June 3 at 15:55 GMT (18:00 Moscow time) at Kalaeloa Airport, located west of Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
The website dedicated to the flight provides the following information about this stage of the circumnavigation:
As you can see, after taking off from the airfield in Nagoya, Japan, the plane stayed in the air for five days and five nights in a row, during which time it set three absolute world records. The first record was the record for flight duration, which amounted to 117 hours and 52 minutes at the time of landing, the second and third records were the records for time and flight range of a solar-powered aircraft.
Another impressive achievement is surpassing the longest continuous flight without refueling for a single-pilot aircraft. The previous record was set in 2006 by Steve Fossett, who flew a Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer for 76 hours during his second trip around the world.
During the now record-breaking round-the-world flight, Andre Borschberg had to deal with a number of technical problems. And this is aggravated by the fact that being above the waters Pacific Ocean, the Solar Impulse 2 plane simply has nowhere to fly emergency landing except to splash down on the surface. Sitting in a cramped aircraft cabin (with a volume of only 3.8 cubic meters, about the same as the interior of a regular 4-door sedan), the pilot can keep his body in good shape by performing simple exercises and yoga. During the entire flight, Andre Borschberg managed to allocate several 20-minute periods of time for sleep, as long as the absence of turbulence, which constantly “torments” the plane in the air, allowed this.
“I feel extremely exhausted and at the same time invigorated by this extraordinary flight,” says Andre Borschberg, “It feels like I climbed Mount Everest five times in a row without much rest. The team at the Mission Control Center in Monaco (MCC) were my eyes and ears all the time, their work allowed me to rest for some time, they constantly maximized energy efficiency and fed me trajectories and flight strategies calculated and simulated on the computer "
Next - Phoenix and New York
In a few days, Borschberg's colleague, pilot Bertrand Piccard, will take the helm of Solar Impulse and fly to Phoenix, Arizona. This segment will be almost two times shorter than the one that Borschberg flew - about 4.5 thousand km - the pilot will have to spend four days on it.
Before the next flight, the Solar Impulse team will check the technical condition of the aircraft. You will also need to wait for the signal from meteorologists about weather conditions favorable for the flight.
After Phoenix, the next destination is New York, then you will need to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. The final destination of the round-the-world flight is Abu Dhabi, where this journey began.
The developers of Solar Impulse note that the aircraft does not claim to be “the future of world aviation.” Rather, it is called an example of harnessing the potential of solar energy. The plane is covered with 17 thousand solar panels, which power all aircraft systems and also charge lithium-ion batteries that keep the plane operating at night.
