Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the first solar airplane capable of flying day and night without using a drop of fuel, took off early on Monday morning from Kennedy Airport in New York in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It's goal is to prove that an efficient energy future is possible.
The flight is likely to take four days and four nights, depending on weather conditions, and is expected to land at the Seville International Airport in Spain on June 3.
This is said to be one of the most challenging legs of the Round-The-World Solar Flight.
“With this flight over the Atlantic, we are further demonstrating Bertrand’s vision that clean technologies work and can be applied everywhere. We can now make our world more energy efficient. It’s not a question of technology anymore, it’s only a question of mindset: Solar Impulse is like a flying smart grid, and if we can make it work in an airplane, where we can’t cheat, we can make it work on the ground, in our cities, for our homes and for all applications,” said André Borschberg, CEO, CoFounder and Pilot of Solar Impulse.
Here is Si2’s journey so far in pictures.
© Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse 2 took off from Muscat, Oman towards Ahmedabad, India with Bertrand Piccard on the controls for the leg #2 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Stefatou | Rezo.ch
André Borschberg before take-off from Ahmedabad, India for the leg #3 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Solar Impulse 2 on the runway at Varanasi airport ready for take-off to Mandalay, Myanmar for leg #4 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Solar Impulse 2 being rolled out of its inflatable mobile hangar at Mandalay airport, Myanmar for the take-off of the leg #5 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Stefatou | Rezo.ch
Bertrand Piccard welcomed by the team after the landing in Nanjing, China completing the leg #6 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Pizzolante
Picture from André Borschberg while flying Solar Impulse 2 on the west coast of Japan in the Joetsu region; © Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse 2 with André Borschberg on the controls is about to land on Kalaeloa Airport after being irborne for five consecutive days; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Solar Impulse 2 overflying the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Bertrand Piccard & André Borschberg receive farewell from Hawaii; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Andre Borschberg in the cockpit of Si2 after the landing in Phoenix Arizona; © Solar Impulse | Chammartin
Bertrand Piccard being equipped before departure from Phoenix, Arizona for the leg #11 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Chammartin
The Mobile Hangar is being deployed in Dayton, Ohio for the arrival of Si2; © Solar Impulse | Raul Urbina
André Borschberg in the cockpit before departure from Tulsa, Oklahoma for the leg #12 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Solar Impulse 2 taking off from Dayton, Ohio for the leg #13 of the First Round-the-World Solar Flight; © Solar Impulse | Chammartin
Solar Impulse 2 over the skyline of Manhattan, New York on its way to JFK international airport; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Bertrand Piccard shortly before the take-off from JFK international airport to Sevilla, Spain; © Solar Impulse
Preparations
Food preparation for the pilot; © Solar Impulse | Pizzolante
Cockpit equipment; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Medical examination of André Borschberg, 2008; © Solar Impulse | Stéphane Gros
Bertrand Piccard doing exercises in the simulator- Flight simulation 2013; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Oxygen Test in Hawaii; © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch
Also read TNM's interview with Bertrand Piccard: Bertrand Piccard - I Was Flying With A Solar Airplane Over A Tanker Leaving a Long Trace Of Oil