-PDBM/FXT
The perfect place for an ‘impossible dream’ SWISS PILOTS TO DEPART FROM MV ON SOLAR-POWERED CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT By Nick Veronin
B
ertrand Piccard, co-inventor and pilot of the Solar Impulse — an ultra-light aircraft, powered exclusively by energy gathered from the sun — said Moffett Field is the ideal location from which to launch the plane’s cross-country trip. “Mountain View is really the perfect place,” Piccard said. Pointing to the region’s fair weather and Moffett’s large hangars, he said the location made sense logistically. But it it also made sense symbolically that the world’s first solar-powered aircraft capable of flying continuously through day and night should make its first U.S. flights in the heart of Silicon Valley. Since Piccard and his partner on the Impulse project, Andre Borschberg, began working from their temporary operating base at Moffett Field, they have talked with NASA engineers, made plans to speak at Stanford and Berkeley universities and met with fellow inventor and entrepreneur, Elon Musk — founder of Tesla and SpaceX.
Borschberg and Piccard said that setting up in Silicon Valley has a third advantage —
money. The duo hope to bring American investors on board, and Moffett’s proximity to the
venture capital firms on Sand Hill Road puts them in a good position to do just that.
COURTESY JEAN REVILLARD/SOLAR IMPULSE
Bertrand Piccard, left, and Andre Borschberg are planning a cross-country trip in their ultra-light solarpowered plane.
However, talking with the Swiss aviation pioneers, it becomes clear that the ultimate goal of their planned American tour is to inspire. Piccard said that when he speaks at local universities, he hopes to spark the interest of the next generation of solar inventors. When children see the Impulse taking diagnostic runs in the skies over Mountain View and the rest of the Bay Area, Borschberg hopes that the sight may give them pause — to reconsider what they believe is possible. Many people told the Solar Impulse inventors that their vision was an impossible one, Piccard said. “This is why we emphasize a lot with our project the need to have more pioneers — more innovators,” he said. Piccard acknowledged that the time when commercial flights will incorporate solar power systems into their designs is a long way off. He said he doesn’t even think solar panels would provide enough energy to power the entertainment system or cockpit instruments on a pas-
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Sweet Tomatoes
Grant Plaza Old location inside Rite Aid
Watch Gallery Suite 315
Come visit us at our new location 1040 Grant Road, Suite 315 (next to Sweet Tomatoes)
We’re still in Grant Plaza, but we moved to a new location to better serve our customers.
GRAND OPENING
SALE
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Regular Watch Battery Replacement $6.95
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■ Mountain View Voice ■ MountainViewOnline.com ■ April 5, 2013