The flight, piloted by Swiss man Andre Borschberg, had arrived in Seville on June 23 after an unprecedented three-day flight across the Atlantic.
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The organisers of the plane’s around-the-world journey said in Madrid, Spain that the aircraft took off at 6:30am (0430 GMT) from Seville International Airport and is expected to land in Cairo International Airport on July 13. It will take between 48 and 72 hours, depending on weather conditions.
Tell us a bit about the pilots.
En route to Egypt, Solar Impulse soared over Masdar’s GemaSolar. By the time the solar plane left Nagoya (Japan) on Jun 28, 2015, it was on leg eight of its journey bound for Kalaeloa, Hawaii (United States).
“But there will be passengers very soon in electric airplanes that we will charge on the ground”. Energy produced by the plant is capable of powering 25,000 homes. The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries, which provide power for night flying.
The experimental aircraft took off from Seville for a flight that should last about 50 hours and will take it over the Mediterranean Sea.
After this leg, Solar Impulse 2 will be flying to Abu Dhabi, which was where the journey began in 2015.
The aircraft landed in Spain last month, after completing the first solo transatlantic flight powered only by sunlight.
“Not many pilots get the chance to bridge the gap between the two worlds in a single flight – and definitely no pilot has done it in a solar powered airplane!”
“The strongest experience was flying over the Pacific Ocean”, he told FoxNews.com. I had the chance to do so many exploration flights such as the first day and night (26 hour flight with Solar Impulse 1), the first mission flight across Switzerland, the first global flight, and the longest solo endurance flight, lasting 5 days and nights over the Pacific Ocean.
Borschberg said a 20-day long flight could be on the cards.
The plane has travelled more than 22,743 miles since setting off on the first leg of the trip from Abu Dhabi to Oman, and has racked up over 460 hours of flight time.
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It’s final flight will be a hop from Cairo back to its original starting point in Abu Dhabi.
