June 13, 2013
Across America 2013: 3rd leg from Dallas Fort Worth to Lambert – St. Louis. Solar Impulse HB-SIA being secured inside mobile hangar © Solar Impulse |Revillard| Rezo.ch
Solar Impulse is making a historic flight across the United States as the first manned plane to fly for 24 hours on nothing but solar-powered batteries. With a stop-over in St. Louis, officials at Lambert St. Louis International Airport recommended Weather or Not, Inc. to assist with their weather-related needs.
“We are proud to be a part of this groundbreaking project,” said Sara Croke, president of Weather or Not, Inc. “We’re providing the team with detailed forecasts, up-to-the-minute rain updates and allowing them to have 24-hour access to our team of meteorologists. If there are any weather issues on the St. Louis leg of their trip, they will be well cared for.”
Piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Swiss-made Solar Impulse is flying through five stops from California to New York. Their goal to change minds and influence future generations about the strengths of solar power technology. They also believe the technologies used in the Solar Impulse could be used to reduce energy consumption in cars, lighting systems, electronics and cooling and heating systems.
Solar Impulse can fly day and night without fuel by the solar energy gathered from 12,000 silicon solar panels as thin as a human hair. This plane weighs only 3,500 pounds, about the same as a Honda CR-V, and has a 208-foot wingspan – larger than a 747’s. You can find more information about the plane and its journey at www.solarimpulse.com.