“My deepest admiration and respect for your courage”, he said. The longest trip was between Japan and Hawaii, lasting almost five days.
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For the two pilots, landing back where they started is only “the beginning of the continuation” of a longer journey, said Piccard, who in 1999 became the first person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in a hot air balloon.
“But it’s not enough”, Piccard added, saying that the solar technology that powered his plane can also be used on the ground to cut emissions in half.
Swiss explorers Bertrand Piccard & André Borschberg, Solar Impulse founders and pilots, took turns piloting the aircraft with a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 and weighing only as much as a family vehicle.
The Swiss-engineered single-seater aircraft is powered by 17,248 solar cells and runs on battery power at night. “As we look to this exciting chapter in aviation and energy history as a source of inspiration and human ingenuity, it’s important to remember that Solar Impulse is a means, not an end”. He has withstood temperatures in the unpressurised cockpit that fall to minus 20 Celsius (minus four Fahrenheit) as he reaches an altitude of more than 8,500 metres (28,000 feet). “By demonstrating that renewable energy can provide sustainable, reliable energy today, and that innovative solutions can unlock even more potential in the future, Solar Impulse has been able to both raise awareness about the tremendous promise of renewable energy and push technological boundaries forward”. The attempt was initially expected to last five months, including 25 days of actual flying.
But the aircraft was grounded in July a year ago when its solar-powered batteries suffered problems halfway through the trip.
Upon landing, however, he described the final leg as more emotional than hard.
Aside from continuing to promote renewable energy, they plan to launch an worldwide council to advise governments and develop new applications for clean energy technology.
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A psychiatrist who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999, Piccard had warned the last leg would be hard because of the high temperatures. To help steady it during take-offs and landings, the plane was guided by runners and cyclists. It made stops in Oman, India, Burma, China, Japan, the US, Spain, Italy, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
