The Solar Impulse aircraft, which recently traveled from Europe to Morocco, is getting help from Bayer MaterialScience to take the aircraft around-the-world. The major flight is scheduled for 2015 as Bayer MaterialScience helps design the cockpit shell of an improved model.
The spin-off, upgraded aircraft will be completed by 2013 and will conduct test flights in 2014. The first model will remain available for additional missions. "We are studying several possibilities and it could perhaps be making its first flights around the US next year," announced Bertrand Piccard, the initiator and chairman of the Swiss project that proves clean technologies are fully reliable allowing to drastically reduce energy consumption. So far the solar aircraft has completed flights in Europe and most recently to North Africa, in each case with materials from Bayer MaterialScience on board.
Solar Impulse CEO and cofounder André Borschberg says that work on the aircraft is already far advanced. "80% of the design phase and 50% of the construction phase have been completed."
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