The organisers noted that Borschberg and fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard have taken turns flying the solar-powered plane on the around-the-world journey to draw attention to the possibilities of using renewable energy sources for a wide variety of things.
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The Swiss-made, solar-powered plane travels at an average speed of 75 km/h and travels at a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet.
After the two-day flight from Spain, just one final leg lies between it and its final destination, Abu Dhabi, where it started its odyssey in March previous year. The most recent from Spain to Egypt took two days and two nights.
With its limitation on passengers and slow pace of flight, Solar Impulse 2 might not be the future of passenger aviation, but it has succeeded in demonstrating that solar power alone is capable of supporting such an impressive flight.
“This landing in Cairo brings Solar Impulse back to the origin of my dream”.
Yousef Baselaib, senior adviser to the Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, was part of the Solar Impulse 2 welcoming committee in Cairo.
After setting off from Seville on Monday morning, the plane passed through Algerian, Tunisian, Italian and Greek airspace, and flew over the Giza Pyramids before touching down at Cairo airport at around 7:10 a.m. (05:10 GMT).
The penultimate step in Si2’s round-the-world adventure, Egypt is also a showcase of Masdar’s thriving partnerships in clean energy and commitment to clean-tech innovation.
The Solar Impulse team will now prepare for the final leg of the journey to United Arab Emirates, they said.
Altogether, the projects are providing clean power to more than 25,000 homes and displacing almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
Picard, who had arrived early to greet the aircraft, told reporters that flying Solar Impulse 2 showed what new technologies can do.
Hasan Al Redaini, the UAE representative escorting Solar Impulse 2 on its round-the-world trip, said: “I am proud of the UAE’s commitment to diversifying Egypt’s energy mix and to advancing sustainable development”.
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The aircraft landed in Spain last month, after completing the first solo transatlantic flight powered only by sunlight.
