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For further information please contact: Merlin Power Systems, Unit 4 Cabot Business Village, Holyrood Close, Poole, Dorset BH17 7BA, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0) 1202 697979 Web: www.merlinpowersystems.com
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07 Jul 13. The Solar Impulse plane has landed at New York’s JFK airport, completing the final leg of a journey across the US on solar power alone. The craft set off at 04:56 (08:56 GMT) on Saturday from Washington DC, and landed about 23:15 (03:45 GMT Sunday). A Statue of Liberty fly-pass had to be cancelled, due to a 2.5metre (8ft) tear in the fabric of the left wing. The Across America transcontinental bid began in San Francisco in early May – at a top speed of 70km/h (45mph). It included stopovers in Phoenix, Arizona, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and St Louis, Missouri. Neither the pilot nor the plane appeared to be in any danger because of the wing tear, officials said. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA has the same wingspan as an Airbus A340 but at a weight of just 1.6 tonnes. By comparison, a fully laden A340 weighs about 370 tonnes.
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA
Wingspan – 63m (208ft)
Weight – 1,600kg (3,500lb)
Covered with 11,628 solar cells
Carries 400kg (900lb) of lithium-ion batteries
Maximum cruising altitude of 8,500m (28,000ft)
The plane’s wing and stabiliser are covered with nearly 12,000 solar cells, which drive its four propellers and charge the plane’s 400kg of lithium-ion batteries for night-time flying. The project has been billed as the first time that a solar-powered plane capable of flying day and night has attempted a journey across the US. Andre Borschberg and his fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard have been alternating flying duties on the single-seat craft, with each leg of the trip designed to be under 24 hours in length. (Source: BBC)
08 Jul 13. Solar Impulse — the world’s most-advanced solar-powered airplane — successfully completed its coast-to-coast flights across America powered only by solar energy. The plane took off from Mountain View, California on May 3rd and landed at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday, July 7th. Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse pilots and co-founders, will visit the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square and ring the Opening Bell. Thomas Werner, CEO of SunPower Corporation [SPWR], a global solar technology and energy services company and provider of the plane’s high-efficiency Maxeon solar cells, will accompany the Swiss pioneers to ring the Opening Bell. (Source: Yahoo!/GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
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Merlin Power Systems are leaders in the design and manufacture of advanced generation, management and monitoring of power systems on vehicles and marine platforms. Being fielded in UOR, Green and SOF fleets combined with 20 years of experience in critical use battery applications make Merlin the perfect partner for your vehicle, mobile or remote power system.
MOTS products include:
DataCell – The industry’s most accurate battery monitoring system provides volts, amps, amp hours, state of charge, state of health and time remaining. Being highly accurate DataCell information may be used for auto control of battery management, APU starting and load shedding. Data displayed on a variety of panels and/or direct C4i screen integration.
VBMS – Vehicle Battery Management System manages the entire primary power system on board. Remote battery switching, split charging, flat battery protection, control of import/export power, APU start/stop and load shedding. VBMS dramatically improves platform reliability, platform running costs (in replacement batteries and fuel savings by carefully managing engine run times & alternator output) and importantly allows confident extension of silent watch running times which dramatically improves tactical advantage over