Early this morning, the solar powered plane, Solar Impulse II, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, landed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, completing a full circuit of the globe. The aircraft’s 17-leg journey involved 23 days of flying, covering a distance of 43,041 kilometres. Piccard took off from Egypt and arrived in Abu Dhabi […]
Swiss solar plane takes on the Atlantic – video and live updates
Solar Impulse 2 left New York on Monday on its way across the Atlantic Ocean. The 100% solar-powered plane is expected to land at Seville Airport in Spain on Thursday 23 June, a four-day four-night non-stop flight. The Atlantic crossing is one of the most challenging legs the aircraft’s global flight. Swiss adventurer, Bertrand Piccard is […]
Sun powered aircraft Solar Impulse lands in NYC, completing US crossing
Solar Impulse 2, the world’s first solar airplane capable of flying day and night without a drop of fuel, left Lehigh Valley International Airport, Pennsylvania, late yesterday evening and landed at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, early this morning, after circling the Statue of Liberty. André Borschberg, a former Swiss military […]
Solar impulse back in the air and bound for the US
Born in Switzerland and now heading from Hawaii to California, Solar Impulse 2 took off early this morning from Kalaeloa in Hawaii, as it continues its round-the-world flight. In silence, the 100% solar-powered aircraft took off across the Pacific at 6:15am Hawaii time (UTC-10) bound for California. The plane belonging to Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, […]
Solar plane’s high altitude flight to China
Solar Impulse has departed on its 5th and most challenging flight to date on its round-the-world journey. It took off from Mandalay in Myanmar at 3:36am (local time) on March 30, 2015. It is bound for Chongqing in China. The anticipated flight time is 19 hours covering a distance of 1,375 kilometres. It is a […]
Swiss aviators beat Richard Branson around the world
“If the round-the-world balloon flight was the final adventure of the 20th Century, Solar Impulse is without doubt the first to encapsulate the challenges of the 21st” – Albert II, Prince of Monaco. When it comes to pioneering spirit, a few Swiss names stand proud on the international stage, including three generations of the Piccard family […]
Solar Impulse breaks a new record
Ahmedabad – March 10, 2015: After an eleven hour pit-stop in Muscat (Oman) Bertrand Piccard took the controls from André Borschberg and continued onwards over the Arabian sea to India. Solar Impulse landed in Ahmedabad (India) in the state of Gujarat at 11:25pm local time (5:55pm GMT) after 13 hours and 20 minutes of flying reaching an altitude […]
Lift off – Solar impulse is on its way around the world
Abu Dhabi, UAE – March 9, 2015: The Solar Impulse team in Abu Dhabi guided by Mission Control in Monaco, saw Solar Impulse 2 take-off this morning. André Borschberg flew the first stage of the round-the-world flight to Muscat in Oman. Piccard will take the reins in Oman and continue onward to Ahmedabad (India). Co-pilots Piccard and […]
First solar-powered world flight imminent
Solar impulse, the 100% sun-powered Swiss aircraft, is nearing the starting blocks of its around the world flight. After recently completing three training flights in Abu Dhabi, the start point, the team is ready and predicts take-off on 7 March 2015. Back in 2014 the Solar Impulse team, after demonstrating that they could fly their […]
Solar Impulse 2 announces around world flight path
The Swiss pilots of Solar Impulse 2 unveiled the flight path they plan to take on their 35,000 kilometre around the world journey ahead of take-off from Abu Dhabi. Solar Impulse 2 will take-off from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in late February or early March and return by late July or early […]