Following a spectacular Statue of Liberty flyover, Solar Impulse 2 proudly arrived at JFK International Airport last Saturday. But almost immediately, the thoughts of the entire Solar Impulse team shifted to the next challenge – crossing the Atlantic and finding a clear weather window to do so.
For me, it is the uncontrollable elements like weather that make this mission so exciting. Even with the latest forecasting technologies there are some things that we just can’t control.
I frequently get asked about the impact of weather on Solar Impulse’s plans. I was recently asked by a colleague in Abu Dhabi “if we were able to fly over the Pacific for five days and nights then how come we were stuck in Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks and New York is just an hour drive away?”
As I hope you all see now - Solar Impulse isn’t your average plane. Once it is in the air it can fly perpetually, feeding off the power of the sun while simultaneously storing battery for night travel.
But if it was that easy then we’d all be flying on solar planes today.
In addition to the sun’s rays, there are other aspects that impact Solar Impulse’s ability to fly. This is particularly relevant in the United States, where weather patterns can be completely different from one state to another.
We can’t have a collection of clouds when flying; mountain ranges produce thermal waves that form cumulus clouds retraining us from ascending.
Conversely, we actually need some clouds on the flight path to reduce turbulence, but not too many to limit the solar energy required to power the plane and recharge the batteries.
And even if conditions are perfect, there are a range of security protocols, when either flying over large airport hubs, following specific FAA air routes or simply ensuring a horizontal distance of almost 9km from any plane at all times.
So the ability to read and understand weather patterns, while navigating a range of other factors in order to set a course is arguably the most critical skill within our team.
In that way our team feels like a new generation of explorers, a modern day version of the maritime adventurers who followed the trade winds.
We all see this journey as one of discovery. A journey set with challenges; whether they’re human, technical or geographical, that will ultimately help develop accelerate advances in solar powered flight. To borrow a famous maritime saying “a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor”.
Hasan Al Redaini, 25, works for group communications at Mubadala and is travelling with the Solar Impulse 2 team. Follow him on Twitter at @hasanrtw.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
