Abu Dhabi: It all started with a handshake and a simple, yet powerful statement: “I trust you. I’m sure you’ll make it.”
This is how Dr Bertrand Piccard, the visionary behind Solar Impulse, recalls his first encounter with General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, around eight years ago.
General Shaikh Mohammad’s words laid the foundation for an endearing partnership.
Piccard and co-pilot Andre Borschberg will be in Abu Dhabi this month to begin preparations for a round-the-world journey aboard Solar Impulse 2 in March.
The airplane powered by solar energy will take off from Abu Dhabi on a first-of-its-kind journey in the history of aviation.
Piccard and Borschberg will take turns as pilots.
Solar Impulse 2, which has a wingspan of 72 metres, was unveiled in April 2014. Equipped with a more spacious cockpit compared to Solar Impulse 1 to accommodate flights lasting several days, it features 5,000 extra solar cells on the upper wing. The aircraft is currently being tested.
Taking off from Abu Dhabi in March, the round-the-world journey will take over five months to complete, during which the plane will make several stops. After stopovers in Oman and India, and then continuing its journey east flying over the Great Wall of China, the plane will make two ocean crossings, with two stops in America and one in Europe, before it makes its way back to Abu Dhabi towards the end of July.
A shared pioneering spirit, vision for a sustainable future, and a commitment to innovation are what inspired the Solar Impulse team to choose Abu Dhabi as the host city for the historic journey.
“A great adventure needs a great place to start from. I have always been impressed by the pioneering spirit of the UAE,” Piccard had told Gulf News earlier.
Dr Piccard and Borschberg founded the Solar Impulse project in November 2003 and partnered with Masdar shortly afterwards.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, is at the forefront of the UAE’s drive to diversify its energy resources and build a clean and sustainable economy.
“I believe the UAE has understood that renewable energy not only protects the environment, but also creates jobs and generates profit,” Dr Piccard said.
Like all the great adventurers of the last century who scored ‘firsts’ in aviation — the Wright brothers, Amelia Earhart and Charles Yeager — the Solar Impulse team is pushing the limits of the impossible.
Dr Piccard — doctor, explorer and aeronaut who made the first non-stop, round-the-world balloon flight — is the initiator and chairman of Solar Impulse.
His friendship and partnership with Borschberg advanced the idea of the solar plane.
The arrival of the plane in Abu Dhabi coincides with a major milestone for the UAE. President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has announced that 2015 will be the ‘Year of Innovation’. The initiative will see the country ensure innovation as a cornerstone for economic development.
