The
world's first solar-powered aircraft will fly day and night and make
12 stops, including two in India, during its round-the-world flight
to demonstrate the promise of clean energy, pilots of the aircraft
have said. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Swiss
co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), along with their
partners, disclosed the global flight route at a function here
yesterday. "With our attempt to complete the first solar powered
round-the-world flight, we want to demonstrate that clean technology
and renewable energy can achieve the impossible," said Piccard,
initiator and chairman of Solar Impulse. The first solar-powered
plane able to fly day and night will land in 12 locations across the
world and travel 35,000 kilometres in the first attempt to fly around
the globe without using a drop of fuel, UAE's WAM news agency
reported. The pilots will take off from Abu Dhabi in February-end or
early March and return by late July or early August 2015 in their
journey that would take them to Ahmedabad and Varanasi in India.
Besides the two stops in India, the route includes stops in Muscat
(Oman), Mandalay (Myanmar), Chongqing and Nanjing (China). After
crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across the US. A
third stop-over location in the Mid-West will be decided depending on
weather conditions. After crossing the Atlantic, the final legs
include a stop in Southern Europe or North Africa before arriving
back in Abu Dhabi. The first round-the-world solar adventure will
take approximately 25 flight days, spread over five months and
covering approximately 35,000 kilometres at speeds of between 50 and
100 kmh. "We want youth, leaders, organisations and policymakers
to understand that what Solar Impulse can achieve in the air,
everyone can accomplish here on the ground in their everyday lives.
Renewable energy can become an integral part of our lives, and
together, we can help save our planet's natural resources,"
Piccard said. "Solar Impulse is not the first solar airplane,
however it is the first able to cross oceans and continents,
remaining in the air for several days and nights in a row without
landing," said Borschberg, Solar Impulse co-founder and CEO.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
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