Solar Impulse 2 has landed in the UAE, completing its epic journey to become the first sun-powered plane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel to promote renewable energy.
Advertisement
Solvay has celebrated the achievement of pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, who have completed their solar-powered world flight at the controls of Solar Impulse 2 (Si2).
The lightweight aircraft, which weighs the same as an SUV but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is the brainchild of Piccard and Bertrand Borschberg, a Swiss engineer and businessman.
Now being piloted by Solar Impulse initiator and chairman Bertrand Piccard, the single-seater aircraft is scheduled to reach Abu Dhabi after a flight lasting two days and two nights.
“The project is a big promotion of clean technologies around the world and the legacy of Solar Impulse is the created global community”, he said.
In a statement this week, Mr Borschberg said it was no longer a question of whether it was possible to fly without fuel or polluting emissions.
Mr Lennon is ABB’s project manager for the flight, but until past year he was also a communications manager for the Solar Impulse project.
“We have now just watched our shared dream [become] a reality”, Solar Impulse wrote.
Solar Impulse2 began its flight in March and traveled around the world on solar power alone, stopping for rest, weather, and promotional opportunities.
Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), headquartered in Abu Dhabi, noted that Solar Impulse 2 had changed perceptions of solar power, not least its ability to provide a reliable power source at night, as well as during the day.
The company behind the historical round the world flight said that they hope to see a future where clean energy is fully utilised.
The success of the 17-leg, 26,000-mile (42,000-km) journey flight is all the more cause for celebration, considering the obstacles the Solar Impulse team faced throughout the journey. The pilots have to wear oxygen tanks to breathe at high altitude, they’re only allowed to only sleep for 20 minutes at a time, and if they have to wee, there’s a special hole in the pilot’s seat! An unscheduled stop in Japan in June 2015 was followed by a 10-month layover in Hawaii, after the plane’s batteries overheated during the 177-hour crossing. Solar Impulse is only the beginning, now take it further!
40 additional sponsors, including Omega, Belgian chemical company Solvay, Swedish-Swiss automation corporation ABB, Swiss manufacturer Schindler, Google and Moet Hennessey also helped fund the project.
Advertisement
The team started the trip in Abu Dhabi, and it was completed in the same place after the 12 legs of the journey.
