Solar Impulse 2, the world's first solar-powered aeroplane, on Tuesday stopped by in Ahmedabad and will fly to Varanasi later this week on its way to circle the earth in 500 hours by July-end.
Now, the selection of two pet cities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its stopovers in the country is not all about politics.The point is, Solar Impulse 2 is not flying `only' on sun's energy; it's banking as much on `tailwinds' -or, streams of air that are in the same direction as an aircraft -in order to keep afloat on its journey of 35,000 kilometres. Hence, it's travelling west to east as prevailing winds are mostly in this direction. This explains why Solar Impulse 2 has started from Abu Dhabi and is going towards Myanmar and China, on its way to come full circle back to Abu Dhabi.
Weighing less than cars like Innova, the plane has a gigantic wingspan of 72 metres equalling the Boeing 747.Covered with hair-thin solar panels, the wings make the plane more like a kite, say experts.
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