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. “Emotions, tears, relief, exhilaration is what we are all feeling right now after completing the first Round-the-World solar flight in history”.
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After it landed in Abu Dhabi there were celebrations for Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, the two Swiss pilots who had taken turns flying the solar cell encrusted plane.
“You may be ending your journey, but the journey to a sustainable world is just beginning”, Ban said to the aircraft’s pilot Captain Piccard, via Skype, the global, online video conferencing tool. The future is you.
Solar Impulse is no heavier than a auto, but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747. With its carbon fiber structure, electric engines, solar panels and lithium polymer batteries, the plan could help change the discussion on environmental protection and the climate crisis from one about funding to one about motivation and solutions, he has said. But Si2 was grounded in July a year ago when its batteries suffered problems halfway through the trip.
There were 16 stops and many delays as the very light aircraft had to be nursed through hard weather conditions.
Over its entire mission, Solar Impulse 2 completed more than 500 flight hours, cruising at an average speed of between 28 mph (45 kmh) and 56 mph (90 kmh). It made stops in Oman, India, Myanmar, China, Japan, the U.S., Spain, Italy, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement this week, Borschberg said that flying without fuel or polluting emissions is no longer a matter of debate. “It demonstrates clearly that with pioneering spirit and clean technologies, we can run the world without consuming the earth”.
Borschberg’s flight over the Pacific Ocean at 118 hours – about five days and five nights – shattered the record for the longest flight duration by an aircraft flying solo.
Piccard, a psychiatrist, is the son of undersea explorer Jacques Piccard and a grandson of balloonist Auguste Piccard. Like Lindbergh’s Atlantic crossing or Yeager’s breaking of the sound barrier, Solar Impulse has accomplished something truly groundbreaking, proving practical what was once thought impossible.
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The project is cost more than $100 million. They’re also working on Masdar City, an experimental clean-energy showcase located near Abu Dhabi’s largest airport. There were more than 40 additional sponsors, including Omega, Belgian chemical company Solvay, Swedish-Swiss automation corporation ABB, Swiss manufacturer Schindler, Google and Moet Hennessey, among others.
