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Okay, what moron closed the sun roof?
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Say, Blog Guy, I saw some photos of a solar-powered prototype aircraft being tested. That’s a pretty cool concept. Have you thought about making a solar version of that Basler BT-70 airplane of yours?
Yes, we tried that last year. It gets pretty hot in those solar things, what with going out of your way to absorb sunlight.
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. So that would be bad.
No, that would be good. When passengers get hot we sell a lot of cold beers and cocktails, which is how airlines really make their money.
I didn’t know that. So you actually sent yours up for a real flight?
Sure. It took right off, beautifully.
And then what?
Oh, let’s not dredge that whole ugly thing up again. Let’s just say we should have checked the almanac schedule for solar eclipses, and leave it at that.
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Top: Solar Impulse’s Chief Executive Officer and pilot Andre Borschberg takes off with the solar-powered HB-SIA prototype aircraft during a flight from Brussels to Paris, June 11, 2011.
Right and left: Borschberg prepares to take off.
REUTERS photos by Francois Lenoir
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Lamar: Hey boss, there’s a guy here who says he wants to be a pilot for your solar fleet. What? Yeah, he says he has experience. His name is Icarus.
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Wow, imagine trying to plan your flights:
first you check the almanac for sunny days; and if the weather changes, do you stay at work or leave a day early and act as thought it were planned?
Oh, and it’s hot in the plane and they are Belgians. I hope the seats are fabric covered or the passengers will be sliding all over once they decide to get nekid in the heat!
i like the name “Oshkosh”… it rhymes with hodge-podge
After discussing the issue with the engineers we have come up with a fix for that problem. Next time we are going to have Lamar and Eugene “You Light Up My Life” Johnson run around on the wing with a few flashlights. Problem sol-ved. And hey, we can now expand into night flights! Gawsh I love this job!
You know, it’s probably not a bad idea to have a summer solar plane. But, this can’t be all that good in the far north during the winter months (or the far south, for that matter).
“Lamar, it’s Christmas Eve; fly me home!”
“Okay, boss; you have four hours of flight time.”
Now, at the equator, this isn’t all that bad. It’s very consistent; twelve hours of flying a day, period.
Haikkudos to Spin for especially good comments today…
The golden rule of flying – take off optional, landing compulsory.
Nice one, CG!
@CrowGirl…you know, that’s the way Ghaddafi (GF)’s training his pilot recruits lately…
GF: “Pull the stick back, plane goes up. Turn left, plane tilts left, turn right, plane turns right. Understood?”
Pilot: “Er..excuse me Colonel, but how do we go down?”
GF: “Never mind that, leave that to NATO.”