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Solar impulse on its maiden flight

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Solar Impulse will fly to Brussels International Airport from Payerne, canton Vaud, Monday 2 May, weather permitting. The flight will be the first international one for the solar-powered plane.

The European Commission, which has backed the project from the start, is the patron for this flight. The airplane will be displayed in the European capital from 23 to 29 May as part of a week of events to promote energy efficiency and renewable resources in particular.

It will then “attempt to fly on to Paris-Le Bourget, where it is eagerly awaited as the ‘Special Guest’ of the 49th International Paris Air Show from 20 to 26 June 2011,” Solar Impulse notes in a statement issued 28 April.

Arnaud Feist, the chief executive of Brussels Airport Company, says he is delighted the team has chosen Brussels Airport for its first international flight, noting that “this airplane, the first to function without fossil fuel and without emitting CO2, symbolizes magnificently the great efforts the aeronautical industry is making to develop new technologies for energy saving and increased use of renewable energies.” Brussels Airport has made several environmental improvements in recent years, including a new waste water treatment plant and a plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent.

The flight will be “a big technical challenge” says the Solar Impulse team: “To operate in environments as complex as the international air traffic network and the taxiways of Brussels Airport, the 14th biggest European airport, means anticipating and studying every possible eventuality, so as to be able to react quickly if unexpected circumstances arise. Because of the airplane’s categorization as ‘experimental’, special authorizations, requiring lengthy procedures, had to be obtained from the civil aviation authorities in each of the countries overflown.”

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