Solar-Powered Aircraft Is Ready to Resume First Round-the-World Flight Taylor Hill - TakePart
go to original April 17, 2016

Solar Impulse’s time in Hawaii (Solar Impulse)

Nine months ago, pilot Andrew Borschberg flew an aircraft from Japan to Hawaii.

But this was no mere eight-hour journey on a jetliner. Borschberg was flying Solar Impulse 2, a sun-powered plane capable of flying day and night without using a drop of jet fuel.

Capable of going 38 miles an hour at most, Solar Impulse 2’s transpacific flight took five days to complete - and fried the plane’s batteries in the process.

The mishap has delayed Borschberg and fellow Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard’s attempt at the first round-the-world trip in a solar-powered plane, with each pilot taking turns at the controls of the single-seat aircraft.

Setting off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in March 2015, the duo completed 13 legs on their eastward circumnavigation before overheating the plane’s batteries in July.

Now, after replacing the batteries and completing multiple test flights, Solar Impulse 2 is ready to resume its attempt to set a record while promoting renewable energy.

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