NEWS
SOLAR POWERED PLANE ONE
STEP CLOSER TO COMPLETING
HISTORIC TRIP AROUND THE
WORLD
For the first time in history,
a solar-powered plane is
flying around the world — all
without a drop of fossil fuel.
Photograph Solar Impulse
Photograph: AFP / Marwan Naamani
S
ince starting their journey in Adu Dhabi in 2015, two
Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg,
have flown the Solar Impulse 2 more than 12,000
miles without a drop of fossil fuel.
Solar Impulse 2 recently resumed flight, and on 13 April,
achieved another milestone on its mission to fly around
the world when Piccard landed the plane in California’s San
Francisco Bay area. Piccard flew nonstop for 62 hours after
taking off from Hawaii.
This was the ninth leg of the circumnavigation, following
a nine-month hiatus for repairs after the pilots broke the
record for longest nonstop solo flight (between Japan to
Hawaii), but “fried the plane’s batteries”.
With the limited places where the solar plane could
make an emergency landing, the trans-Pacific leg of its
journey was the riskiest part of the plane’s global travels.
After the landing in California, Piccard said: “You know
there was a moment in the night, I was watching the
reflection of the moon on the ocean and I was thinking ‘I’m
completely alone in this tiny cockpit and I feel completely
confident…I was really thankful to life for bringing me this
experience.”
The top of the experimental craft is lined with 17,000
solar panels that provide all its energy, so no additional
fuel is required. The panels charge batteries to power the
plane’s propellers during the night. The plane has a wider
wingspan than a Boeing 747, weighs as much as an SUV,
and travels at just 43 mph.
The pilots must also battle exhaustion as they get just
three hours of rest per day broken up into 20-minute
sessions while the craft is flown by autopilot. Piccard and
Borschberg take turns to fly the plane.
The Solar Impulse 2 is highly sensitive to winds and the
team have had to wait for favourable weather to make their
latest journey.
Flying produces more CO2 per passenger mile than any
other form of mass transit and the pilots hope to promote
clean energy in aviation.
8
HSE INTERNATIONAL
FIFA PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES WORKER WELFARE BODY FOR
QUATAR WORLD CUP 2022
Photograph Solar Impulse
The Solar Impulse 2 creation process brought about
a number of scientific innovations. Researchers have
developed maximized power from solar cells, lighter metals
and plastics and designed an ergonomic cockpit with
sensors that monitor the pilot’s health.
On Earth Day, (22 April), Piccard spoke with United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from the cockpit,
after 175 nations signed the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change
“Energy efficiency, solar power, and modern technology
can achieve the impossible.”
“If an airplane like Solar Impulse 2 can fly day and night
without fuel, the world can be much cleaner.” Piccard said.
In a later celebratory comment, he said: “It is more than
an airplane, it is a concentration of clean technologies, a
genuine flying laboratory, and illustrates that solutions
exist today to meet the major challenges facing our
society.”
His partner André Borschberg said: “Just imagine your
energy reserves increasing during flight and available day
after day! This is what we may be doing in our communities,
our cities and our countries.”
The Solar Impulse 2 is now back up in the sky and the
team expect to complete their trip in the Middle East later
this year.
On 22 April, concluding his two-day visit to Qatar, FIFA President Gianni Infantino
announced the creation of an oversight body with independent members, which
will monitor systems and accelerate improvements of the safety and labour
conditions at FIFA World Cup™ stadiums.
Q
atar, the tournament’s first Arab host, supported
the monitoring initiative, Infantino said.
In March this year, Amnesty International
reported on a wide range of abuses in Qatar’s preparations
for the World Cup, based on the accounts of 132 workers at
the sites.
It found construction workers from India and Nepal had
been charged recruitment fees and housed in appalling
conditions.
Hassan al-Thawadi, head of Qatar’s Supreme Committee
for Delivery & Legacy, has said Doha is working to reduce
abuses he described as occurring on construction sites all
over the world.
Infantino faces pressure from human rights groups
to press for reform of labour laws in Qatar including its
“kafala” sponsorship system, whereby employers effectively
control a worker’s freedom to leave the country.
Infantino said he had told Qatari Prime Minister
Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani that measures taken by Qatari
authorities to ensure