Solar Impulse is being flown on its 35,400-kilometre trip around the world in stages, with Mr Piccard and his Swiss compatriot Mr Borschberg alternating at the controls of the single-seater aircraft.
Advertisement
After the plane’s stop in Cairo, it will make its way back to Abu Dhabi to complete its trip around the world. The Reuters photo was captioned, “Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered plane, piloted by Swiss pioneer Andre Borschberg is seen during the flyover of the pyramids of Giza”.
A plane powered exclusively by the sun landed in Cairo in the early hours of Wednesday, successfully completing the 16th leg of its round-the-world journey.
“It’s André’s last flight during our round the world endeavor, and I congratulate him for having led the technical team who realized such a revolutionary airplane,”says Bertrand Piccard”.
The 20-megawatt plant is the world’s first utility-scale solar power plant to produce reliable energy for 24 hours a day. Solar Impulse will take off to complete the circle when weather conditions are optimal.
It reached Seville on June 23.
Pilots Piccard and Borschberg left Hawaii after a forced nine-month winter layover due to a damaged battery and lack of sunlight.
En route to Egypt, Solar Impulse soared over Masdar’s GemaSolar.
Prior to its flight from Seville to Cairo, Solar Impulse 2 made stops in India, Myanmar, China, Japan, Hawaii, California, Phoenix, Tulsa, Dayton, Lehigh Valley, and NY.
According to USA Today, the pilots are not only interested in setting aviation records, but also in raising climate change awareness by showcasing the vast potential of renewable energy.
Advertisement
The aircraft swept over the pyramids before landing at Cairo International Airport at just after 7 a.m. local time this morning. “This is what we can do with these new technologies”. “I’ve started to think about it”, Borschberg told BBC.com. “I have to stay really focused”.
