Abu Dhabi: When Solar Impulse-2 makes history in Abu Dhabi as the first solar plane completing the round-the-world trip, it will have crossed more than 40,000km without using a single drop of fuel, an official spokesperson of Solar Impulse told Gulf News on Monday. The initial estimate of the distance to be covered by the global flight was over 35,000km.
The historic landing of Solar Impulse-2 (Si2) is expected early on Tuesday at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi from where its epic journey started in March 2015. Bertrand Piccard, the co-founder and co-pilot who is in the controls of Si2, took off from Cairo early on Sunday. “If we want to protect the environment and fight climate change, we need renewable energy,” Piccard told reporters before take-off.
The plane already crossed the area of heatwaves in Saudi Arabia by Sunday evening and everything looked fine, the spokeswoman said.
“There were no major challenges so far and weather forecast for tomorrow is also favourable. Still we can confirm the exact landing time by Monday midday only, she said. Because the scheduled landing at 4am on Tuesday will depend on winds and air traffic on the flight path and around Abu Dhabi. “If these conditions are not favourable, the plane may have to take a detour that may cause delay. In that case, we have to see whether it is advisable to land during the day time with high temperature,” she said. Because it is an experimental plane and it can’t withstand high temperature. But so far everything looks good, the Abu Dhabi-based spokesperson said.
The iconic aircraft’s arrival in the UAE capital will mark the triumphant conclusion of a voyage that has taken in sixteen stops around the world, including a number of countries where the investment of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar is already pushing the boundaries of clean technology, extending access to sustainable energy and reducing carbon emissions, a Masdar statement said on Sunday. Masdar is the official host partner of Si2. André Borschberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Solar Impulse, started the epic journey from Abu Dhabi. Both Borschberg and Piccard were taking turns as the pilot during the global trip with sixteen stopovers along the way in Oman, India, Myanmar, China, Japan, the United States, Spain and Egypt.
A welcoming committee of the UAE and international dignitaries are expected to receive Solar Impulse.
“To have flown more than 40,000 kilometres powered only by the sun shows that solar energy has truly arrived as a viable technology, and has significant potential for wider development,” said Mohammad Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar. “Solar Impulse 2’s arrival in Abu Dhabi will be an emotional moment for the Solar Impulse team and a proud occasion for the people of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Our shared commitment to the realisation of a more sustainable future will inspire continued innovation in clean technology and renewable energy long after the Si2’s final flight,” he said.
“Solar Impulse will stand forever as a tribute to human ingenuity and our capacity to work together to solve common challenges,” Al Ramahi added.
Over its entire mission, Solar Impulse 2 has completed more than 500 flight hours, cruising at altitudes of up to 9,000 metres and at an average speed of between 45km/h and 90km/h.
A total of 19 world records have been set, pending confirmation of the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). These include André Borschberg’s feat of flying for five consecutive days and nights over the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii, the longest flight duration achieved by any type of aircraft flying solo, and Betrand Piccard’s historic crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the first by a solar-powered airplane.
— With inputs from Ramadan Al Sherbini, Cairo correspondent
