Solar Plane Tours Switzerland

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 06:00

Solar Plane Tours Switzerland

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The Solar Impulse team continues to expand the capabilities of their airplane, HB-SIA, with a tour of Switzerland this week. The flights are aimed at making multiple takeoffs and landings in one day and have the airplane fly in the same airspace as other aircraft.

Yesterday pilot André Borschberg flew from the home base in Payerne

to Geneva and back again all in one day. The flight to Geneva lasted about four and a half hours and marked the first time the plane has landed at a civilian airport.

After a press conference and some tests on the ground, HB-SIA made the return trip in under four hours.

Today Borschberg again lifted off from Payerne, this time bound for Zurich. Regular Twitter updates let airplane watchers on the ground know when the slow flying airplane would be overhead. The team joked that the flight may be a distraction for parliamentary elections happening as the solar powered airplane flew over the Swiss captial of Bern.

After a brief stay in Zurich, Borschberg lifted off a few hours ago and returned to Payerne a little after noon eastern time.

The path of the two flights (complete with a few sightseeing distractions) can be seen here.

The tour of Switzerland comes after HB-SIA’s historic night flight in early July. The team is working on the next generation of its solar powered airplane that is expected to make a transatlantic flight some time in 2012.

More pictures of the flights around Switzerland after the jump.