Late last year we announced our relationship with Solar Impulse, which makes aircrafts powered only by solar energy. This week the company announced their latest aircraft is ready to begin its world tour. The flight around the world – the first ever to be powered completely by solar energy – will take 5 months and will have 12 stops along the way, including 4 in North America.
Starting from Abu Dhabi in late February or early March, the planned route travels across Asia and the Pacific Ocean before making its first US stop in Hawaii. Three more US stops in Phoenix, the Midwest and New York will follow before the Solar Impulse 2 crosses the Atlantic to end its journey back in Abu Dhabi.
[Credit: Solar Impulse Website]
Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE is at the center of Solar Impulse’s aircraft, with the CATIA and ENOVIA platforms being used to develop, test and validate the Solar Impulse planes since 2006. According to Bertrand Piccard Chairman and Pilot, Solar Impulse:
“We had to be right the first time. We needed proven, cutting edge industry solutions to craft the experience for which we were looking. That’s why we went to Dassault Systèmes and its 3DEXPERIENCE platform. An experience perspective is exactly what we needed when creating an airplane to achieve such long flights. We’re in the cockpit for five days at a time. Everything, from the propulsion, to the electronics, to the crew facilities needs to be considered, planned, integrated and implemented for such a flight to be successful.”
Dassault Systèmes has a long history of innovation in the aviation industry, including creating the software that led to the first aircraft developed entirely on a virtual platform.
While this current aircraft design, with only one seat for the pilot, isn’t practical for commercial purposes at the moment, this technology shows incredible promise. “This is about more than just serving the needs of a customer,” said Michel Tellier, Vice President, Aerospace & Defense Industry, Dassault Systèmes. “It’s more than just an airplane, Solar Impulse is a message. The Solar Impulse project is showing the world that alternative, clean energy can be safe and viable in the most extreme circumstances and that it has the power to change the world.”
Dassault Systemes will be providing updates on the tour of North America, including opportunities to see the plane.
