Solar Impulse 2 Stuck In Hawaii For Now — Longest, Most Dangerous Leg Damaged Aircraft
Historic circumnavigation isn’t easy. The team behind the Solar Impulse 2 is grounded in Hawaii awaiting repairs to overheated batteries, but rest assured, the journey will resume in a few months.
Solar Impulse 2, a small, fuel-free aircraft, made it through the most dangerous and longest part of its trip from Japan to Hawaii this month. But it was during that tough leg that the damage was done, the Guardian reported.
During the first day of that journey, the lithium-ion batteries on board got far too hot, and crews couldn’t figure out how to fix it. They assured, however, that the technology is sound. They were just thrown for a loop when the airplane rose to high altitudes as it flew through a tropical climate.
According to BBC, the team determined that the batteries were coated in too much insulation, which made it hard to keep their temperature at a safe level.
Unfortunately, this issue will take several months to fix, and the historic journey won’t get started again until April.
The aircraft is still in a hangar at the University of Hawaii’s Kalaeloa airport, and will remain there while it undergoes repairs, ABC added. The team will also look into other cooling methods so this mishap doesn’t happen again.
Before the airplane takes to the skies in the spring, crews will conduct a few test flights. The next leg of the journey will take it across the Atlantic to the western U.S.; from there, it’ll fly back to Abu Dhabi, where the whole excursion began in March.
The Impulse team expects clear weather that time of year. Bad weather has already grounded it once before.
Despite this most recent setback, the Solar Impulse has already made history. Pilot Andre Borschberg’s 4,400-mile flight from Japan to Hawaii broke records when he made it in 118 hours. The plane has also achieved records for similar airplanes, and took over the standing aviation record for longest solo flight in an aircraft that doesn’t use fuel, the BBC added.
.@solarimpulse's Round-The-World will continue in 2016. We will never give up! pic.twitter.com/bRr6ZXcZIN
— André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) July 15, 2015
Solar Impulse 2 has 17,000 solar cells, which run the propellers and charge batteries. During the day, it can fly at 60mph, though its ideal speed is 28mph. It stores energy to use when the sun isn’t available to provide power. Its wingspan is greater than a Boeing 747 — at 72 meters — but it’s lighter than an SUV.
[Photo Courtesy of Twitter]
