Solar Impulse completes successful Night Flight - Interwatches.com News

Friday 09 July, 2010 - 16:10 PM EDT

Solar Impulse completes successful Night Flight

OMEGA and Solar Impulse

All through the night. When the Solar Impulse prototype airplane touched down at the airfield in Payerne, Switzerland on the morning of July 8th, 2010, it had already made history, having flown all night long powered only by the energy collected in its solar cells the day before. That morning, the sun, which played such a key role, rose on a new era in aviation.

Solar Impulse has an ambitious goal: the project aims to circle the globe powered entirely by solar energy. It will prove convincingly that there are viable sustainable energy sources which will allow us to reduce our dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels.

OMEGA and Solar Impulse

OMEGA is proud of the contributions it has made to this pioneering adventure and congratulates its Solar Impulse partners for this important next step.

OMEGA’s participation has involved capital and technological support. In 2007, the company developed a performance simulation and testing system (test bench) which enabled the SI development team to simulate the airplane’s electrical systems. The project also benefits from the OMEGA instrument, an easy-to-read device which displays important parameters to assist the pilot during landing. It was developed by astronaut and Swatch Group Board Member Claude Nicollier. OMEGA’s engineers have been able to transfer knowledge of hybrid propulsion systems gained through the development of the Swatchmobile in the 1990s.

As a result, the Solar Impulse’s runway is illuminated, the pilot’s safety is enhanced and the promotional lights create an impressive aesthetic effect – all in a package weighing less than two kilograms.



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Source:
[ Omega's Official Website ]

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