The difference is the work that went into Voyager was to prove Rutan's
composite designs for commercial aircraft purposes. And because he wanted to
prove them for aircraft and space craft purposes he had to make them fly.

The folks you are talking about admit that they need to double the capacity
of the batteries. Light, high cap batteries are a goal of many comercially
viable projects.

I have no doubt someone will, sooner or later fly around the earth in a
solar/electric aircraft I doubt that the battery technology that allows it
will have been desinged for the mission. The technology will come from
someone with more money and brains who is doing it to reap the rewards with
a commercial product.

That said there is a chance that the first place an organization that is
doing the battery reasearch will show the technology off is a global flight
because of the press it would get them. The downside if the thing folds up
and crashes in the ocean for a non-battery realted failure the battery
technology will get the bad press.

My bet is that the technology, when developed, will be for a car that can
drive 5 hours at highway speed.


oilsardine wrote:
absolutely not commercial, just a stunt/expanding the envelope. Like
Rutan's Voyager...