Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland pilots the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft as it takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in NY early on June 20, 2016.
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The Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist has been alternating pilot duties in the single-seat craft with businessman André Borschberg.
An official with mission control said the flight is expected to last around 90 hours, making it the longest segment of the round-the world journey so far this year.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft was flying over the western Atlantic Monday morning on one of the most hard legs of its record-breaking bid to cross the globe using only solar energy.
Bertrand Piccard is piloting Solar Impulse 2 in what should become the first solar and electric crossing without fuel or emissions over the Atlantic.
The plane, no heavier than a vehicle but with the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is being flown on its 35,000 kilometer (22,000-mile) round-the-world journey by two pilots taking turns, Swiss entrepreneur Andre Borschberg and Piccard, a psychiatrist.
Solar Impulse 2 is due to land sometime on Thursday in Spain or France, with the precise location to be determined later depending on weather conditions, said Elizabeth Banta, a spokeswoman for the project team. During nighttime flights it runs on battery-stored power.
The previous leg of Si2’s flight around the world took just over five hours, setting off from Pennsylvania and landing in NY on June 11.
The team behind Solar Impulse – part of a campaign to build support for clean energy technologies – hopes to complete the global circumnavigation in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March 2015.
“Smooth takeoff and all #Si2 systems have been checked here at the Mission Control Center for the #Atlantic Crossing”, Borschberg posted on Twitter soon after Solar Impulse 2’s departure.
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More than 17,000 solar cells cover the plane and can achieve the slow and steady top speed of 50mph (80kph) when fully exposed to the sun’s rays.
