An aircraft has succeeded to circumnavigate the globe
powered only by the sun's energy, breaking a world record for the longest
non-stop solo flight.
The Solar Impulse 2, which took off from Japan on Monday on
the seventh leg of its journey, has shattered the solo-flight record threshold
of 76 hours while crossing the Pacific.
The plane, which has a wingspan bigger than a jumbo jet,
landed in Hawaii on Friday.
Solar Impulse 2, piloted alternatively by Swiss explorers
Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, set off on its 35,000km journey around
the world from Abu Dhabi on March 9.
"Can you imagine that a solar powered airplane without
fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane!" said Piccard in a statement.
"This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible
goals."
Since leaving Abu Dhabi, Solar Impulse 2 has flown seven
legs of 13 in an attempt to be the first single manned solar-powered plane to
fly around the world.
- The plane is powered entirely by the 17,248 solar panels on its wings.
- The five-day leg from Japan to Hawaii was regarded as the most challenging part of the journey.
- "If we did a five-day flight across a continent and we encountered any problems - be it weather, operational issues, there's an alternate airport we can land," Gregory Blatt, the project's managing director, told Al Jazeera.
- "Crossing the Pacific, there is no alternate airport so that's what keeps me up at night, that's what keeps up the teams, the engineers, the pilots. This is a first ever - are we going to be able to make it?"
If successful, the 120-plus hour flight to Hawaii will also
break records for the longest distance flown by a aircraft powered only by the
sun.
Live video from the cockpit of the plane was broadcast on
YouTube and showed pilot André Borschberg wearing an oxygen mask and thick
flight clothes to protect
him from the cold.
him from the cold.
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