‘Just like Icarus’s dream – but we want to return’
Explorer Raphaël Domjan dreams of piloting a solar-powered plane to the stratosphere. Now he’s on a mission to turn dreams into reality. Words: Mike Stones
‘Just like Icarus’s dream – but we want to return’
Explorer Raphaël Domjan dreams of piloting a solar-powered plane to the stratosphere. Now he’s on a mission to turn dreams into reality. Words: Mike Stones
‘Just like Icarus’s dream – but we want to return’
Explorer Raphaël Domjan dreams of piloting a solar-powered plane to the stratosphere. Now he’s on a mission to turn dreams into reality. Words: Mike Stones
▲ Space for two: Raphaël Domjan with the space suit he will need to fly to the stratosphere.
WE NEVER FORGET our heroes. They offer lifelong inspiration, guidance and, occasionally, solace. For solar-powered explorer Raphaël Domjan, names such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet resonate down the years. Their achievement, dedication and sacrifice – as star pilots of French Aeropostale mail service of the 1920s and ‘30s – inspired Domjan to set new records for solar-powered aviation and yachting. His motive: to popularise the potential of solar-powered transport.
“What impressed me was their pioneer spirit of exploration,” Domjan tells Corporate Jet Investor. “Sometimes, they did not know if their planned flights [across deserts, oceans and mountains] would work. But they went ahead anyway and risked their life – they were crazy.”
Electric achievements: Prince Albert flies over the Principality of Monaco piloted by Raphaël Domjan.
Turning that inspiration into action, Domjan, aged 50, has already amassed an armful of records – in the air and at sea – in his ambition to turn solar-powered transport from dream to reality. In the air, his SolarStratos project resulted in the intrepid Swiss making the first jump from an electric-powered aircraft and the first free-fall from a solar plane – the SolarStratos HB-SXA in August 2020. Last year he became the first person to pilot a head of state in an electric plane. His passenger for the 30-minute flight from Nice Airport in a Pipistrel Velis128, operated by Elektropostal, was HRH Albert I, Prince of Monaco.
These airborne achievements were preceded by records at sea. In his quest to popularise marine solar power, Domjan led the first circumnavigation of the globe in 2010 using a solar-powered vessel. The catamaran PlanetSolar made the round-the-world voyage between September 2010 and May 2012.
But why sacrifice the time and money – not to mention run the personal risk? Domjan does not hesitate – for he is a man on mission. “The most important thing I want people to remember is that climate change is a challenge for the whole of humanity. We can change and we must change to develop solar energy to provide electricity to power planes – including business aircraft – boats and ground transportation.” There is no choice. “Otherwise, we will destroy this planet. It will be impossible to continue as we are. The world cannot afford to continue burning 300t of fossil fuel a second.”
Stratospheric ambition: The solar explorer expects to realise his goal before 2025.
Solar cruise control: The solar-powered circumnavigation lasted nearly two years.
Solar cruise control: The solar-powered circumnavigation lasted nearly two years.
His current mission, called SolarStratos, is to fly a solar-powered plane to the stratosphere. This involves piloting a flimsy, glider-like craft, with wings carpeted in solar cells, to a height of (in the mid latitudes) around 33,000ft or 6.2 miles (10 km) – an altitude never reached by an aircraft not powered by conventional propulsion. The plane, designed by Calin Gologan and the German company Elecktra Solar, will prove the capability of electric aircraft and collect atmospheric measurements uncontaminated by pollutant emissions. Wing-mounted solar cells will power twin electric motors (two x 19 kW) driving a three-bladed climb propellor.
The cells, covering about 237sq ft (22sq m), are said to deliver an efficiency of 22%-24% and will charge lithium-ion batteries. These have a total capacity of 14 kWh expandable to 21 kWh. To save weight, the carbon-fibre constructed aircraft will be unpressurised – requiring Domjan to don a pressurised space suit.
“It’s like Icarus’s dream – achieved 4,000 years later,” says Domjan. Then adds wryly: “But, unlike Icarus, [the mythological Greek aviator] we plan to return with our wings.”
Domjan has already gone some way towards realising his dream with several test flights, including the freefall parachute mission (in a solar plane piloted by a colleague). “It’s amazing to fly a solar aircraft as you fly so slowly – without a drop of fuel, no noise and without any CO2 emissions.” That power will take him to the stratosphere in 2023 or 2024.
Solar powered flight is such a compelling proposition for Domjan because the propulsion system causes no noise or carbon emissions but achieves the same performance as a comparable plane fuelled aircraft while using three times less energy. “To fly the Prince of Monaco in the Pipistrel, we used only about 10kW per hour for the 30-minute flight,” he explains. “The efficiency of electrical power is about 95% compared with the efficiency of thermic energy [including fossil fuel] which is only about 30%. That’s why you need 30% less energy for an electric-powered aircraft.”
But he acknowledges the necessity of improved technology and regulations if electric aircraft is to broaden its application beyond two-seat trainers and experimental aircraft. “First, we need to go further with the regulations [to facilitate electric flight],” he explains. “We also need to significantly increase the density of batteries. With less than one hour’s flight now, you cannot do much. But when you can achieve two hours’ flight, that will be a significant improvement for electric aviation.”
Thumbs up from Prince Albert of Monaco and Raphaël Domjan.
He says that by the end of this decade, electric propulsion will become widespread for business aircraft and regional commercial flights carrying up to 10 to 12 people. Hydrogen fuel cells will also make a significant impact. Fossil fuels contain about 45 megajoules per kg of energy, compared with 120 megajoules per kg for hydrogen fuel, he says. But it will be another 20 years before solely electric powered aircraft can cross the Atlantic.
It’s not just in the air that solar power can prove its worth. Domjan dedicated nearly two years of his life to leading the first solar circumnavigation of the world aboard the catamaran MS Tûranor PlanetSolar. The largest solar boat ever built, the 31m vessel made the voyage in 585 days and travelled 37,286 miles (60,006 km). Equipped with 5,780sq ft (22,537sq m) of solar panels rated at 93 kW, the cat reached speeds of up to 10 knots (19 km/h). The yacht, carrying a crew of four, was powered by two electric motors – one in each hull plus 8.5t of lithium-ion batteries. It was a memorable voyage. Not least for the 24 hours spent adrift in the South Pacific with a broken propulsion system due to a malfunctioning propellor pitch control.
But for now, Domjan is focused on flying. “We need to show the younger generation that it will be possible to keep on flying in their lifetimes – but it must be sustainable,” he says. “If we stop flying, it will be a big step back for our civilisation.”
So, how does the solar explorer and member of the New York Explorers Club relax? Unsurprisingly, Domjan’s hobbies are as nerve jangling as his day job. He lists them as BASE parachute jumping (where you jump from Buildings, Antenna, Spans and the Earth), mountaineering and diving.
Other passions include kite surfing, skiing, gliding and flying his beloved Robin DR400 – a wooden sport monoplane. These activities are confined to short breaks because he has ruled out taking a long holiday for now. “I’ll take a year or two off after we reach the stratosphere, but, for now, this is where I have to put all my focus.”
So, Domjan remains dedicated to his mission. “Saint-Exupéry, Mermoz and the other pilots of Aeropostale gave me the dream to fly when I was a boy. And flying an electric solar-powered aircraft is one of the best experiences of my life. You are powered only by the sun.”
▼ Raphaël Domjan plans to soar like the mythical Greek hero Icarus but (unlike him) return with his wings.
Raphaël Domjan
Nationality Swiss
Age 50
Profession Adventurer/Explorer
Contact [email protected] +41 24 425 740
Achievements (firsts)
• Parachute jump from electric powered aircraft
• Solar-powered maritime global circumnavigation
• Solar-powered marine circumnavigation
• Pilot of an electric plane to fly a head of state
SolarStratos aircraft
Power
Twin electric motors (2 x 19kW)
Three-blade climb prop
Wingspan
81ft (24.8m)
Wing-mounted fuel cells
237sq/ft (22sq/m)
14kWh
(expandable to 21kWh)
Raphaël Domjan
Nationality Swiss
Age 50
Profession Adventurer/Explorer
Contact [email protected] +41 24 425 740
Achievements (firsts)
• Parachute jump from electric powered aircraft
• Solar-powered maritime global circumnavigation
• Solar-powered marine circumnavigation
• Pilot of an electric plane to fly a head of state
SolarStratos aircraft
Power
Twin electric motors (2 x 19kW)
Three-blade climb prop
Wingspan
81ft (24.8m)
Wing-mounted fuel cells
237sq/ft (22sq/m)
14kWh
(expandable to 21kWh)
