Abu Dhabi: The pilot of the first solar plane crossing the Pacific Ocean derives energy from yoga to keep him energetic throughout the adventurous trip, the organisers revealed on Sunday.
Solar Impulse 2, the solar plane attempting to circumnavigate the globe without a drop of fuel, departed from the Chinese city of Nanjing on Saturday at 10.40pm UAE time for Hawaii in the US to make aviation history.
However, the iconic aircraft is facing inclement weather and the pilot, André Borschberg, was reported to be in a "holding" pattern over the Sea of Japan on Monday as organisers warned that bad weather could threaten his Pacific crossing.
Now, organisers say that bad weather has forced Solar Impulse flight from China to Hawaii to prepare for landing in Nagoya, Japan.
The 8,172-km flight spanning around 130 hours — six consecutive days and nights — will be the longest for a single pilot aeroplane ever flown.
Watch the live broadcast from the plane crew's Youtube channel.
Doubt
Borschberg completed Solar Impulse 2's first overnight leg, with the aircraft relying solely on batteries charged by the sun's energy, but poor weather ahead threw the rest of the marathon flight into doubt.
Borschberg, who is CEO of Solar Impulse, rested for only one hour during the first 17 hours of the flight. “Yoga keeps him energised,” Solar Impulse tweeted on Sunday evening.
“I feel physically and mentally prepared for the first night,” Borschberg tweeted.
The flight that started from Abu Dhabi on March 9 had been waiting for favourable weather after landing in Nanjing on April 21.
“We are very happy to see our plane fly [after a long wait],” Elke Neumann, a press officer at Solar Impulse, told Gulf News over the phone from Nanjing. “We are now wishing all the best to André who is already nearly 24 hours up in the sky,” she said on Sunday evening.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, said the Pacific crossing will test the limits of Solar Impulse 2 and demonstrates the potential of coupling innovative aerospace technology with renewable energy.
“Together with Solar Impulse, Abu Dhabi and Masdar share a commitment to advancing clean technology and to spread a message about the importance of innovation and renewable energy in ensuring our sustainable development,” he said.
Borschberg, in the single-seater 3.8 cubic metre unpressurised cockpit, will be exposed to extreme conditions over the world’s largest body of water.
He said: “It is the first time one pilot will fly so long and is the moment of truth. Questions to be considered will be: Am I able to keep my attention, concentration, will I find the possibilities to rest? The challenge will be to keep the right attitude and mindset and make the optimum choices which will be required to fly the solar aeroplane six days and six nights across the Pacific Ocean.”
