BERTRAND Piccard and André Borschberg, the Swiss co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, along with their partners, revealed the global flight route of Solar Impulse 2. The first solar-powered plane able to fly day and night will land in 12 locations across the world and travel 35,000 kilometres in the first attempt to fly around the globe without using any fuel.
For pilots Piccard and Borschberg, the drive behind their mission is to demonstrate how clean technologies and a pioneering spirit can change the world.The first round-the-world solar adventure will take 25 flight days, spread over five months and will cover 35,000 kilometres at speeds between 50 kmph and 100 kmph. Si2 will take-off from Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, in late February or early March and return by late July or early August this year. The route includes stops in Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; and Chongqing and Nanjing, China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across the Continental USA stopping in three locations – Phoenix, and New York City at JFK. A location in the Midwest will be decided dependent on weather conditions. After crossing the Atlantic, the final legs include a stop-over in Southern Europe or North Africa before arriving back in Abu Dhabi. Solar Impulse unveiled the flight path in Abu Dhabi alongside partner representatives. This included main partners Solvay, Omega, Schindler and ABB. They were also joined by official partners Altran, Bayer, Google, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and Swisscom alongside Solar Impulse’s host partner Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.“Masdar and the emirate of Abu Dhabi are proud to host the departure, and hopefully safe arrival, of Solar Impulse and its pilots, as they dare to fly round the world using only the power of the sun,” said Sultan Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and chairman of Masdar. “Solar Impulse is a demonstration to prove the impossible can be possible, and that innovation knows no boundaries. As a leader delivering sophisticated renewable energy projects around the world, Masdar is a natural partner for such an innovative endeavour, which underscores the viability of solar technology.”The single-seat plane’s energy efficiency is greater than any aircraft to date.“Solar Impulse is not the first solar airplane, however it is the first able to cross oceans and continents -remaining in the air for several days and nights in a row without landing,” explains André Borschberg, Solar Impulse co-founder and CEO. “But now we have to ensure the sustainability of the pilot in order to complete the route; Solar Impulse 2 must accomplish what no other plane in the history of aviation has achieved - flying without fuel for five consecutive days and nights with only one pilot in the unpressurised cockpit.”