The future is clean.
Hawaii entered celebration mode upon the successful landing of the Solar Impulse aircraft at Kalaeloa Airport, just outside Honolulu. The Solar Impulse's wings are equipped with 17,000 advanced solar energy cells which charge batteries for night (see: sunless) flights:
The record-smashing journey from Japan to Hawaii took five days and is part of a global journey for the Solar Impulse employing forward-thinking pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, each completing predetermined portions of the journey. Following completion of the Japan to Hawaii route, the Impulse will now travel to Phoenix and New York.
According toAP, the Impulse has a preferred speed of 28 mph — though a particularly sun-drenched day can easily double that speed. The $100 million project, though not necessarily indicative of the future of the solar-powered aircraft industry, was started in 2002 with the hopes of raising public awareness of the grave necessity for future reliance on renewable energy.
