Solar-powered aircraft to fly from New York to Paris

This is interesting. It’s a plan to fly from one place to another powered by sunlight. A Spanish company Turtle Airships is working to build a luxurious solar-powered aircraft which can take passengers from New York to Paris. It will be powered by lightweight photovoltaic cells and designed to rest on land or water. The first aircraft prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outside of the ship will be covered with Cadmium-Indium-Germanium (CIG) photovoltaic cells, picked for their light weight. The cells should generate enough power to move the aircraft at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. A diesel drive train will generate the rest of the power, and ideally the designers will look to an adapted hybrid electric model for that.

The main issue it has now is about funds. As soon as somebody or some organization gets up to throw some money on a solar aircraft, they will pick up reigns and get it started. Turtle Airships defines it as a rigid shelled, amphibious, solar powered, all weather, fast aircraft that is lifted by helium. The only thing is though, what if somewhere in between the sunshine stops – that will be gory. Of course, with the weather men being almost close to believable these days it can actually work. Maybe they should keep a back up as well. I am not going on it for sure though, when and if it comes out.
[Cleantechnica]