What's Lighter Than Air and Powered by the Sun?

Old technologies have a way of making encore appearances -- usually when new circumstances and additional innovations make them once again attractive. In this case, a team of French engineers have created a truly zero-emission flying machine by wrapping a helium blimp in solar panels. The team plans to fly it across the English Channel by the end of the summer, according to a Wired article.

At a top speed of 25 miles per hour, it won't shatter any speed records. And judging by the pictures, it looks like a one-seater. But hey, you have to start somewhere. That's not to say we'll all be zipping around the globe on solar-powered passenger blimps anytime soon, but we can dream, can't we?

Projet Sol'R is sponsored by INSA Lyon and ESSEC Business School. The 72-foot, next-generation blimp -- lovingly named Nephelios -- consists of an aluminum frame covered in nylon and polyethylene, powered by flexible solar cells generating 2.4 kilowatts. A "surprisingly small" motor powers two large, red propellers, according to an engineer quoted in the Wired article.

When asked about a similar solar blimp project underway by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Projet Sol'R member Felix Hildenbrand was quick to defend the humanitarian ambitions of his project.

"As we are a very peaceful people in France we could not imagine that our construction could ever have a military use. In fact we don't have any commercial interest right now. Our goal is just to show that it's possible, and that's what we are going to do [when we] cross the channel by the end of the summer."

How refreshing. I, for one, would like to hear an interview with the members of Projet Sol'R after they inhale mass quantities of helium.