July 3, 2009 11:00 AM PDT
Two virtual flights were conducted using Solar Impulse simulators, one in 2007 and another in 2008. For the 2008 "flight," both Piccard and Borschberg were the test subjects, each spending 25 hours flying nonstop in a cockpit just like the one in the Solar Impulse. Equipped with their helmets, parachutes, oxygen masks, and food supplies, the two pilots were able to test the cockpit's ergonomics, the aerodynamics of the flight, and the efficiency of the batteries during nighttime.
Five screens set up around the cockpit gave the pilot the feel of a real flight.
"I went into a simulator and came back out of an airplane," said Piccard after the 25-hour simulation. "This proves to what extent the simulation is fascinating."
Caption by Lance Whitney
Photo by Solar Impulse/Stephanie Gros
