From Newsgroup: rec.aviation.military
The Solar Impulse 2, a long-range experimental aircraft, crashed in the
Gulf of Mexico when it lost power during an unmanned test flight on May
4, a report from the National Transportation Safety Board said. There
were no fatalities or injuries.
Developed by entrepreneur Andr|- Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, a
descendant of famous European explorers who pioneered scientific
advancements both in the air and under the sea, the sun-powered plane
has undertaken several successful test flights since it was developed in
2015. The solar-powered aircraft circumnavigated the world in 2015 and
2016.
rCLThe Solar Impulse team is saddened by the loss of an important
technological flagship,rCY the company said in a statement released on
Friday. Solar Impulse said the plane had been taken over by Skydweller
Aero, an Oklahoma company developing autonomous aircraft, which heavily modified the Solar Impulse 2. The plane was lost during one of these
unmanned flights.
The slender, fixed-wing single-engine aircraft is described by Piccard
as symbolic rCo itrCOs not meant to carry passengers and instead represents
a potential clean energy solution to fossil fuels, according to his
website. Per the BBC, the solar-powered aircraftrCOs wingspan measures 72 meters, making it wider than a Boeing 747.
It took an unconventional person to develop the equally unconventional aircraft.
A descendant of Auguste Piccard, who invented the bathyscaphe, a
deep-sea submersible, and Jacques Piccard, who was on the first mission
to the Mariana Trench, Bertrand Piccard comes from a famous family that
has set multiple world records. Auguste Piccard launched balloon flights
in the stratosphere in 1931 and 1932 to study cosmic rays, collaborating
with his son, Jacques, who became a prominent undersea explorer.
And, according to his website, Bertrand Piccard studied psychiatry and developed an interest in hypnotherapy during balloon flights, where he struggled to sleep and stay awake. A disciple of Ericksonian hypnosis,
Piccard used this practice to train doctors and psychologists, as well
as conquer the fear of the unknown, his website said. rCLBy plunging into
a state of trance, the pilot manages to dissociate his mind from his
body and can thus remain focused on the onboard instruments even when he
is resting,rCY PiccardrCOs bio reads. In 1999, Piccard traveled more than 29,000 miles in a balloon from the Swiss Alpine village of Chateau-drCOOex
to Egypt, making it the first nonstop balloon flight around the world, according to the National Air and Space Museum.
NTSB officials are currently investigating the May 4 crash of the Solar
Impulse 2.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/experimental-aircraft-crash-us-222 49431.php
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