KRASNOYARSK, November 14. /TASS/: Veteran Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov plans to take off on a non-stop flight around the world on a Project Albatros solar-powered glider in 2020 or 2021, as the famed explorer told TASS.
"We are setting our sights on 2020 or 2021," Konyukov said.
The glider with a wingspan of 44 meters is currently under construction. Plans are in store to equip it with solar batteries so that a pilot can fly the glider in the daytime, while at night, the aerial vehicle will glide on its own.
The Albatros Project is being implemented with the support of Russia’s ROTEC technology company and its subsidiary TEEMP.
So far, the history of aviation has seen only one successful solar-powered flight around the world, which involved the Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 aircraft. It completed circumnavigating the globe in 500 days, making 19 stops. Russia’s Project Albatros team seeks to create an aircraft that would be able to conduct a non-stop flight around the world in seven days, without having to recharge.
Konyukhov, 67, has carried out several circumnavigation missions, crossing the Atlantic Ocean 17 times. He is the first Russian to climb all seven highest peaks on six continents (Mount Elbrus, Mount Everest, Aconcagua, Mount Kilimanjaro, Vinson Massif, Mount Kosciuszko and the Denali peak also known as Mount McKinley), and to travel to both the South Pole and the North Pole.
