The hottest exploration of solar powered aircraft

On the evening of April 21, the world's largest solar aircraft - "sunshine power 2", which aims to show the world the important progress of clean energy, flew from Chongqing to Nanjing Lukou International Airport, opening the "Nanjing station" of the global journey. "Sunshine power 2" aircraft is the world's leading solar aircraft that can fly at night. It can fly around the clock without adding any fuel and emitting any pollutants. On the afternoon of April 22, at the invitation of the Swiss Embassy in China, we finally "face-to-face" with this special solar powered aircraft in the special hangar of Lukou Airport in Nanjing, and explored its many wonders in detail

without a drop of oil, it wants to fly around the world

"'sunshine power 2 'is indeed a miracle in the sky! It is the world's leading solar aircraft flying around the world. It will not use a drop of fuel in the whole process, but only solar energy." In the early morning of April 22, at the welcome ceremony of the "sunshine power 2" global trip landing in Nanjing held at Lukou Airport in Nanjing, Dr. Dai Shangxian, the Swiss ambassador to China, standing on the solar aircraft, couldn't hide his joy. After taking off from Chongqing Jiangbei Airport for more than 17 hours of uninterrupted flight, at 23:28 on April 21, the highly concerned "sunshine power 2" successfully landed at Nanjing Lukou Airport, which was 20 days later than the original planned landing time. During this period, due to weather reasons, the aircraft has been refitted at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport

according to the introduction, this magical solar powered aircraft has a huge wing of 72 meters long. The pilot is in the cockpit, so it is difficult to see the wing state of the aircraft when sailing at night. It is necessary to have eye-catching signs for the pilot as a warning reference. Therefore, a total of 14 LED lights are installed on the wings on both sides, and there are two larger landing lights near the fuselage

it is understood that the air flight distance from Chongqing to Nanjing is about 1200 kilometers, and the flight time of ordinary flights is about 2 hours, but "sunshine power 2" has flown in the air for more than 17 hours

wingspan super airliner, light as a car

on the afternoon of the 22nd, he was invited to the special hangar of Nanjing Lukou International Airport. After strict security checks, he walked into the white shed. Looking at the chain reaction caused by overload, he saw that this oversized solar aircraft was quietly parked on the ground. "Sunshine power 2" is huge, with a wingspan of 72 meters, even longer than the wing of Boeing 747, but its weight is only 2.3 tons, which is only equivalent to the weight of a car

"the power of solar aircraft is achieved by monocrystalline silicon thin film solar cells combined with lithium batteries." Daniel, who led the tour, said that there were 17248 solar panels on the wing of "sunshine power 2". In order to meet the needs of day and night flight, 633 kg lithium-ion batteries were also installed in the engine pod for energy storage. "In this way, it can also ensure the safe flight at night."

"sunshine power 2" solar powered aircraft has no air conditioning, toilet and other facilities in the cabin of less than 4 square meters. How can pilots survive in the narrow cabin? Daniel took it to a shelf, picked up a storage bag similar to vacuum packaging, and said that the pilot's food was processed by food enterprises on behalf of them and made into sealed liquid food. "The pilot can heat himself in the air and eat hot food."

when the pilot needs convenience in the air, the "toilet" is under his seat. This device is a bit like a toilet. When it is used, it is convenient for the signer to ask the relevant departments to take measures at any time by opening the cover. After that, the pilot only needs to seal the bag, and there will be special equipment to collect it after the plane lands

according to reports, pilots can also rest intermittently to alleviate fatigue. However, pilots always check their blood oxygen content and take oxygen when they encounter insufficient blood oxygen. "A total of 8 oxygen compression cylinders are installed in the cabin for pilots to use when needed."

research on the shear thickening characteristics and its influencing factors of the particulate suspension system without loneliness in flight, take photos and send microblogs

"if there are special circumstances such as the completion of energy consumption in flight, the pilot parachute escape is the only choice." Daniel said that "sunshine power 2" has been comprehensively improved on the basis of "sunshine power", especially the special parachute bag, which also hides many emergency equipment. "The bag contains compressed lifeboats, emergency communication tools, food and other life-saving necessities. This parachute bag is set on the back of the seat. In case of emergency, as long as you pull the equipment switch, it will automatically leave the seat and carry it on the pilot."

the cabin is also equipped with modern equipment such as satellite communication. When the pilot flew from Chongqing to Nanjing, he was busy in the sky for most of the day. Including eating, taking photos, tweeting, and even accepting satellite connection interviews

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its next stop is Hawaii

it is reported that, as the world's largest solar aircraft at present, "sunshine power 2" took off from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at 7:12 a.m. local time on March 9, and began its first round the world flight. According to the previously released flight route map, the total mileage of "sunshine power 2" around the world is 35000 kilometers, staying in 12 cities, including Chongqing and Nanjing in China. Nanjing is the sixth stop of the round the world tour of solar aircraft. The original plan was to stay in Nanjing for 20 days, hold a series of visits, and then continue to fly eastward across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii, the United States

at present, the "sunshine power 2" is piloted by Bertrand Picard. After landing in Nanjing, the sunshine power team will undergo a simple rest to prepare for the next stage of flying across the Pacific without landing for five days and nights. The previous pilot Andre boshberg has returned to Switzerland for adaptability examination and rest due to physical reasons. He will soon return to the team to complete the final journey

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the adventure story behind sunshine dynamics 2

in 1999, Picard, a famous Swiss deep-sea explorer and inventor born in an adventure family, launched the global flight plan. His grandfather and his assistant took their own hot-air balloon to the 16000 meter high stratosphere as early as 80 years ago, setting the world's highest record, His father was one of the first batch of divers to dive into the deepest part of the seabed, the Mariana Trench in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

after several twists and turns, he found the Federal Institute of technology in Lausanne and met bosh Borg, a former pilot who served in the Swiss Air Force. In 2003, Picard and boshberg jointly launched the solar power project, and this fantastic solar aircraft finally entered the feasibility study stage. They found aircraft and glider manufacturers one after another, and got the same answer: impossible

but they still found a solution. Picard lobbied government agencies and a number of companies to provide financial support. Boshberg recruited more than 90 top experts in various fields. They also received technical full-range regulators from 80 companies, which exempt operators from manual adjustment. The range is easy to operate and use, and technical and financial support. In 2014, at a cost of 160million Swiss francs, the prototype testing machine "sunshine power" and the official product "sunshine power 2" were launched successively

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