The Wings of the Sun (2010)

• 83%
• 2010
• Documentary
• Henri de Gerlache

Will it one day be possible to fly aboard a plane, day and night, and to travel round the world with zero pollution? Today, this is not just some crazy project, but a huge human, aeronautical and technological challenge that none believed in - a challenge taken up by famous 'scientific adventurer' Bertrand Piccard together with André Borschberg, pilot and project CEO, and their team: constructing and flying, for 26 hours, an airplane that functions uniquely with solar energy. Called Solar Impulse, the airplane is the size of an Airbus A380 and the weight of a car. Its wings, 64 meters wide, are covered with a 'skin' of solar cells. It can transport a pilot and aims to do a non-stop day-night-day sequence. This incredible story takes us back ten years, to when Bertrand Piccard lands in Egypt after his round-the-world trip in a balloon, and the first notions of a solar plane are outlined, continuing up to André Borschberg's presentation of the HBSIA prototype in June 2009. During the 26-hour flight, we discover, year by year, the extraordinary development of the Solar Impulse adventure.