2011: HB-SIA’s first international flights

In early 2011 Schindler joined as Solar Impulse’ fourth main partner. It was also the year that HB-SIA undertook its first international flights to Europe’s central nervous system, Brussels (Belgium), and to the world renowned Paris Le Bourget Airshow (France) for aviation amateurs. After two exciting months abroad, the prototype returned home safely and Bertrand Piccard flew the solar aircraft for the first time.

March

• 21 March: Schindler become Solar Impulse’s fourth main partner.

April

• 11 April: Flight test piloted by Markus Scherdel in preparation for the flight to Paris le Bourget in June. The objective of the flight was to test if the structure of the aircraft goes into resonance by repeatedly jerking the control stick and to check its overall behavior during emergencies by making an emergency descent with airbrakes fully open.
• 26 April: Engineers celebrate the building of the 10’000^th part built from scratch.

May

• 13 May: On Friday the 13^th, almost after 13 hours of flight, André Borschberg lands in Brussels for Solar Impulse’s first international flight. The symbolism behind the choice of this first international destination was to encourage a political discourse at the heart of the European Union in favor of greater investments in renewable energies.

June

• June 14: Solar Impulse, special guest of the Le Bourget Airshow, lands in Paris and is ready to be presented at the International Exhibition of Aeronautics and Space, 20-26 June 2011. The event, unlike the flight to Brussels, is meant to present the prototype to the public and aviation amateurs.

July

• July 3: HB-SIA, piloted by André Borschberg, returns to Switzerland after a two-month European mission.
• July 12: Bertrand Piccard’s first flight piloting HB-SIA.

September

• 6 September: André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard receive the 7th Edition Prize of the SolarWorld Einstein Award.

October

• 3 October: Solar Impulse team awarded the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR) medal.
• 26 October: André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard gave a conference in Zurich to 400 students in the framework of Solar Impulse’s Education Program. 

Now that we have completed the "Rivages" project of building Bernard Stamm's new 60 foot monocoque, better known by the name of "Cheminées poujoulat", which is due to take part in the forthcoming Vendée Globe 2012, we move on at the beginning of July to our next project, building the S2, code name for the new Solar Impulse airplane.

Once again we go from boat to airplane, but with our expertise in the use of composite materials as the common factor.

Even before the first flights of HB-SIA, our team at Decision SA were thinking about innovations that could be implemented in the new plane. We reached the stage of working on the lightest carbon fibres weighing only 90 g/m2 (by comparison the sheets of paper we all use daily weigh 80 g/m2) and we wanted to find solutions that we could put to the Solar Impulse design team to make the plane even lighter wherever possible.

The way forward came by taking recent developments in yacht sails by the company Createx of Cossonay and combining them with a new technology called TPT, or Thin Ply Technology. With this technology, we succeeded in laying down on our vacuum tables complex multiple layers of 25 g/m2, plotted by a robot guaranteeing absolute precision in the angles and positioning of the fibres. Incidentally, the CNT (Carbon Nano Tube) included in the new epoxy resin was developed and supplied by Bayer, one of the main sponsors of Solar Impulse.

To validate this new process we worked all through spring and, thanks to the intensive and productive collaboration among all those involved (the Solar Impulse Design Team, Createx SA, Empa and Decision SA), we came to the conclusion that this highly innovative process should be used in building the S2.

So here we are at the end of the year, with all the tools for manufacturing the wing spar completed, and in the process of making the braces for the spar which, when assembled, will be more than 70 m long.

The initial stages of this construction epitomise the mindset of those driving this marvellous project forward: a constant effort to find innovative solutions, to establish their reliability and then to implement them.

Hence the pleasure we all have at Decison SA in building the structures of this extraordinary airplane.

More than 500 candidates (or 15% of those seeking election) from all parties signed it, and in doing so committed themselves if elected to voting for measures aimed at promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.

After the elections it turned out that 30% of those elected had signed the Energy Charter. From this we can draw the conclusion that candidates who signed it had twice as much chance of being elected :). It also suggests that these questions of renewable energy are central among voters' concerns!

Today, the action continues since many other members of parliament who have studied the issue have now told us that they want to sign the Charter. This approach encourages politicians to treat energy issues on a non-party basis. By signing it, they undertake personally to vote for measures seeking to achieve clearly defined aims:

• On energy saving: to introduce a legal framework that allows Switzerland to cut its fossil fuel consumption by at least 40% by 2034 and 70% by 2050
• On renewable energy: to generate at least 30% of total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 and 70% by 2050

Our aim is to get more than 50% of MPs to sign the Charter!

The list of signatories is updated regularly. Click here!

Eight years later, in the same week, André received his first standing ovation at the end of a lecture for Dassault in Las Vegas, and I was doing my first night landings with Solar Impulse in Payerne.

Eight years of synergy, symbiosis and friendship. Happy Birthday Solar Impulse!

Of course, working with him doesn’t mean that I see him every day… So it was a good opportunity to spend some time together.

For those who haven't heard of the "Ecrans de l'Aventure", this is a public film festival catering for visual media professionals, as well as those addicted to exploration, adventure, travel and distant horizons. This festival is not exactly unknown at Solar Impulse as, back in 1998, Bertrand received the Peter Bird/SPB Adventure Trophy after his 2^nd round-the-world attempt in a balloon, to encourage him to keep trying. Then, in 1999, he was awarded the Adventurer of the Year Golden Fleece along with Brian Jones after their successful round-the-world trip in Orbiter III.

The reception event provided a backdrop for some emotional meetings, notably with Bernard Voyer, explorer and chairman of the jury, who has been to all 3 poles, and Anne Quémeré, who crossed the Pacific in a Kiteboat, to mention only two. After the screening of the documentary, Henri de Gerlache who directed it, and André faced an enthusiastic audience and a barrage of questions.

One of the surprises of the weekend was the Jury's "Special Mention" for the "Wings of the Sun". Congratulations Henri! Last but not least, Hugues de Wavrin, Vice-president of La Guilde, this year presented André with the Adventurer of the Year Golden Fleece for the 26 hour flight, which is shown in the documentary.

These awards recognise adventurers, male or female, and sometimes even teams who show exceptional commitment in expeditions of real endurance.

On Monday 31 October, Bertrand Piccard performed night take-offs and landings. After a total of 16 flights, the training of Bertrand ended successfully.

The training program, supervised by the Solar Impulse flight mission specialists had various objectives which have all been achieved. These included: mid altitude flights (4'000 m), circuit patterns, equipment and oxygen system testing, go arounds, motor failure tests and night take-off and landing.

Training will restart again in the Spring of 2012 with long-duration flights (10-18h).