After landing the plane, pilot Bertrand Piccard was greeted outside the cockpit by his Solar Impulse partner and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg.
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The plane began the journey in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi and completed it in stages, with stops in Oman, India, Myanmar, China, Nanjing, Hawaii, San Francisco, Phoenix, Tulsa, Dayton, New York, Seville, and Cairo before landing back in Abu Dhabi.
The wings of the Solar Impulse aircraft are wider than those of a Boeing 747 and hold 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries.
It took 70 hours for Piccard to make the historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean. On the ground, they were helped by a team of 30 engineers, 25 technicians and 22 navigation controllers. “This is why it’s very important to understand that it’s more than an achievement for the history of aviation, it’s a success for the history of energy”.
Masdar sponsors clean-energy projects around the globe.
“By flying around the world thanks to renewable energy and clean technologies, we have demonstrated that we can now make our world more energy efficient”, he said. “While 100 percent solar-powered airplanes might take longer to materialize, electric airplanes will develop in the near future”.
Since the cockpit is not pressurized, Borschberg and Piccard could feel changes in temperature. Built by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg as a proof-of-concept, it could pave the way for more green technology in aerospace and elsewhere. Patrons will advise governments and corporations on how to use clean technology. We live in a world where renewables are no longer an alternative source, but already the norm for a good deal of our energy needs.
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, has congratulated President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for the successful circumnavigation of the globe by Solar Impulse 2 and safe return to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. But speed was never the point of Solar Impulse. The project has also been beset by bad weather and illness. They will be able to fly in extremely low air density and remain in the air both day and night, essentially taking over the need for satellites in a cheaper and more sustainable way. “Parallel to SpaceX and Blue Origin, they could be brought down from the stratosphere to perform repairs and upgrades”.
A 63-year-old former Swiss Air Force pilot and a hypnotherapist five years his junior with a penchant for hot-air balloon exploration completed a round-the-world trip in a solar-powered airplane, predicting that within a decade, commercial flights with electric aircraft will become a reality.
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But for now, the pilots can revel in their completion of an historic trip around the world.
