First round-the-world solar flight takes off from UAE.
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Two pilots attempting the first flight around the world in a solar-powered plane began the maiden leg of their voyage on Monday, the mission's official website said.

Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates en route to the Omani capital Muscat at the start of a five-month journey of 35,000 km (22,000 miles) organized to focus the world's attention on sustainable energy.

"Solar Impulse wants to mobilize public enthusiasm in favor of technologies that will allow decreased dependence on fossil fuels, and induce positive emotions about renewable energies," said the mission website, which maps out the plane's location and broadcasts audio from the cockpit in real time.

The plane is only as heavy a family car (2,300 kg, 5,100 pounds) and but has a wingspan as wide as the largest passenger airliner. Its journey will span approximately 25 flight days broken up into 12 legs at speeds between 50 and 100 km (30 to 60 miles) per hour.

Studies, design and construction took 12 years and a first version of the craft rolled out in 2009 broke records for heights and distances traveled by a manned solar plane.

The flight will make stopovers in India, Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and flying across the United States and southern Europe to arrive back in Abu Dhabi.

"Miracles can be achieved with renewables such as solar power," Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, who also made the first non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon in 1999, told Reuters in January.

"We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel," he said.

Companies involved in the project include Bayer AG, Solvay, ABB, Schindler, Omega and Abu Dhabi's Masdar.

(Reporting By Noah Browning, Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Heavens)

Source: Reuters.

Videos:
http://www.reuters.com/article/video...eoId=363451101
http://www.reuters.com/article/video...eoId=363442621

In India, it will land at Ahmedabad, where I live. This is really a step towards a-green-world.
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#2

I will be going to watch the Takeoff
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#3

That's cool. They need to think of a way to make the body of solar panels aswell, which could reduce the span width of the plane.
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#4

Interesting, heard about this on the radio.
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#5

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Originally Posted by Kapersky™
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In India, it will land at Ahmedabad, where I live. This is really a step towards a-green-world.


Liar.
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#6

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Originally Posted by Vince
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Liar.
I'm pretty sure almost every person from india on this forum has changed their location to something else. I guess they are just ashamed of being from india.
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#7

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Originally Posted by Write
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I'm pretty sure almost every person from india on this forum has changed their location to something else. I guess they are just ashamed of being from india.
Dunno about others, but in my case, I used to live in UAE and still visit there each 3 months and sometimes I change the location. And there are many who are Indian but live in other place. The field is named "Location", not " nationality".
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#8

I've been watching the landing on BBC. It was something like a NASA event. Everybody was applauding and cheering.
I hope in the close future, not only a few planes, but most of them would be running with renewable sources of energy, as they are one of the biggest sources of pollution, saying it even though I'm passionated by them.
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#9

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Originally Posted by Vince
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Liar.
Hmm, no? I'm not? I'm a CANADIAN citizen, but so I wrote "Canada" there. My nationality is India, and I live in Ahmedabad in India, and I'm in India at the moment, to attend my sisters marriage. I really wonder, people like you, are posting without confirmation, and throwing baseless sentences to other peoples.

"I'm pretty sure almost every person from india on this forum has changed their location to something else. I guess they are just ashamed of being from india. " - Partially this also.
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#10

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Originally Posted by Baboon
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That's cool. They need to think of a way to make the body of solar panels aswell, which could reduce the span width of the plane.
You do realize that such a large span means you'll create more lift and reduce the effect wingtip vortexes, so you'll fly more efficiently?
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#11

testing hi
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#12

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Originally Posted by Krest
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testing hi
loud & clear
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#13

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Originally Posted by HyDrAtIc
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loud & clear
roger
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