Solar Plane Crosses Alps To Trippy Music (VIDEO)

Michael Graham Richard of Treehugger sent over some awesome video of a solar plane crossing the Alps -- here's what he has to say:

We've written a few times about the Sunseeker II solar airplane, and how it was the first solar plane to cross the Alps. We had some breathtaking photos, but now we have video!

WATCH:

Alps Crossing from Solar Flight on Vimeo.

Comments

[kurtlockwood]

That guys got guts, if had gone down in the Alps that would've been pretty much it.

Kurt Lockwood

[TheBaffler]

Are you the crappy pr0n actor Kurt Lockwood, or just a fan of his?

[kurtlockwood]

Neither it's my real name. But apparently you are a porn fan. Kudos!

[TheGuideGirls]

Brilliant!

www.theguidegirls.com

[rcpmac]

While I agree this is an accomplishment, it is more a solar powered glider than plane in the traditional sense. Given the right thermals, it could have been launched a number of ways and rode the thermals to the same result.

[Shawn Drewry]

That takes alot of guts to fly over the alps like that..LOL

http://www.ShawnDrewry.com

[DSOTM]

I think the most poignant part of this video is watching all the men in suit and ties walking towards the plane, it shows how open European businesses are to new technologies as compared to our leaders in industry in the US.

Remember GM, you put all the money into the EV-1 only to destroy it because your egos were hurt when California mandated clean cars. Boo Hoo

[DSOTM]

though solar planes will probably never be able to be used for commercial flying, this truly shows how remarkable our ingenuity has become with finding new and clean technologies.

[cyclobenzaprine9]

Very neat!

[Lavina]

Good Job!

[ToddlerJ]

Wonderful images....but I was fighting my own "on a bummer" flashbacks with the....music?

[lentinelia]

Aircraft is an unrelenting source of pollution.
It would be great if solar technology could lead to a new means of propulsion.

Polluting jet engines are a dinosaur.

We have to find something that is current.

[rcpmac]

"Aircraft is an unrelenting source of pollution"...
The carbon foot print of which will soon be surpassed by internet and data processing servers.
What will you do then?

[prosha]

While I would very much like to, I simply do not care about this story. This is a nonsense thing.

[jsarets]

This probably isn't the first solar-powered aircraft to fly over the Alps. In March, ESA launched the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite, which flies in an extremely low circumpolar orbit (which crosses the Alps from north to south every so often) in the upper atmosphere using solar-powered electrostatic ion thrusters to counteract aerodynamic drag.

[pakaal]

Can a satellite technically count as a "solar plane", even if it does have an orbit that's just at the edge of the upper atmosphere? I mean dude, seriously, you're dousing the flames here, I was totally floating on the trippy music!

[escribacat]

That was pretty cool. There did seem to be an alarming noise at the beginning though ... not very peaceful!

[youwrackdisiprine]

That noise just lets the pilot know that he is flying through a thermal. Thermals are columns of hot air that a glider can circle around, which will keep the glider up in the air. I assume the solar part of the plane kicks in when there aren't any thermals for the glider to fly through.

[AngieMom57]

Amazing.

[HC4BO]

That looks very cool ...

When can I get mine ... ?