When Solar Impulse HB-SIA landed safely at 9 a.m. local time Thursday morning, July 8, at Payerne Airfield, Switzerland, it was big news all over the world. No aircraft before had ever achieved a manned 24-hour flight through the night powered entirely by solar energy, according to a report at EAA.org.
One of the Solar Impulse co-founders, Bertrand Piccard, will appear at the AirVenture Oshkosh Electric Aircraft Symposium, scheduled for Friday, July 30, in the Founders’ Wing of the EAA AirVenture Museum.
According to the EAA report, the pilot of the four-engine HB-SIA, co-founder and CEO Andre Borschberg, flew for more than 26 hours following a 6:21 a.m. takeoff at Payerne on Wednesday, July 7, proving that an aircraft can collect enough solar energy in-flight to remain airborne even in overnight darkness. Read the full report here.
