Abu Dhabi: The first solar plane attempting a round-the-world flight took off from Chongqing towards Nanjing in China on Tuesday morning after waiting for three weeks for better weather.
Bertrand Piccard is flying the plane for an expected 14 hours across China in its sixth leg. Since the plane landed in Chongqing on March 31, cloudy weather conditions and excessive crosswinds prevented its take-off.
Solar Impulse meteorologists and simulation teams were battling with unfavourable weather conditions to find solutions for the plane’s departure from Chongqing.
Strategies explored included alternative routes, possible pit stops and flying at various altitudes. While considering several possibilities, the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) was very supportive, collaborative and flexible, for which Solar Impulse is grateful, a media alert issued by the Solar Impulse team said.
After departing from Chongqing, the plane is heading east towards the city of Fuling, located in the province of Sichuan in China.
Piccard will fly over the mountainous region just outside Fuling between 12pm and 1pm local time at a cruising altitude of 3,700 metres (12,140 feet). Piccard will continue in an easterly direction, crossing the longest river in Asia, the Yangtze River, then flying north-easterly towards the city of Wuhan. The solar-powered aircraft will pass over Chaohu Lake, one of the largest lakes in China at roughly 8am local time. Piccard is expected to arrive in Nanjing at 4am UAE time on Wednesday.
The plane will remain in Nanjing for approximately 10 days, depending on weather conditions, as a thorough check of the airplane is required before departing for Hawaii (USA) for the Pacific crossing, which will last five days and five nights.
The seventh leg from Nanjing to Hawaii in the US, flying across the Pacific Ocean, will be a feat that has never been accomplished with a zero-fuel airplane before.
During the coming months, Piccard and Andre Borschberg will stop in Phoenix, Arizona, and Northern Africa or southern Europe before returning to Abu Dhabi to complete the circumnavigation of the world.
Swiss pilots Piccard and Borschberg are travelling 35,000 kilometres around the globe accumulating 500 flight hours over five months to spread the message about clean technologies through a pioneering spirit.
