Abu Dhabi: The first solar plane circumnavigating the globe without a drop of fuel has finally started the last leg of its historic flight from Cairo to Abu Dhabi, from where it started its epic journey in March, 2015.
Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) took off from Egypt at 1.28am local time [3.28am UAE time] on Sunday with Bertrand Piccard, the co-pilot and co-founder, at the controls. The plane is now flying towards Abu Dhabi where it is expected to land after 48 hours, depending on weather conditions.
“You cannot imagine how much I look forward to landing in Abu Dhabi,” Piccard told Gulf News in a telephone interview from Cairo last week. “That will be a fantastic moment… I will be flying around Abu Dhabi and preparing for landing. I look forward for that…” he said.
The revolutionary plane has overcome high winds in Cairo after ten-day long wait for take-off since landing there on July 13. Abu Dhabi's Masdar-backed plane’s previously scheduled departure on July 17 was postponed due to bad weather and the pilot’s illness. Now on its way to Abu Dhabi, Si2 has to face extreme hot weather conditions. “It is a challenging leg,” Piccard said.
But the suspense entirely remains for the last leg of this pioneering journey which promises to be as challenging as the previous 16, in particular due to current hot weather in the Middle East, especially at this time of year, the Solar Impulse team said. “The hot temperature is at the limit of the design requirements of Si2. In addition it causes, even at high altitudes, thermals and turbulences forcing the pilot to stay longer periods of time with the oxygen mask for many days in a row,” it said.
Piccard said he had an emotional link with Egypt. “It’s very emotional to take off from Egypt with Si2, given that I landed here in 1999 after accomplishing the first non-stop round the world balloon flight. It’s precisely here that started my dream of making another circumnavigation, but this time without fuel, only on solar power. I’m excited to come so close to the goal, but unfortunately there are still so many people we have to motivate before having a world running on the same clean technologies,” he said before the take-off.
André Borschberg, CEO, co-founder and co-pilot, said: “I am very moved to see Bertrand take off for the last leg of this incredible dream. It reminds me of the first time we met to discuss this seemingly impossible mission and the excitement it created in my mind. Today, we are living the final moments of a once in a lifetime adventure contributing to setting a new milestone in aviation – one centred not on speed or height, but instead on exploring new clean and efficient technologies that can almost make it possible for the plane to fly with unlimited endurance, a week, a month; something that was never done,” he said.
Piccard, a medical doctor and explorer at heart, teamed up with Borschberg, an engineer and savvy entrepreneur to make this pioneering project a reality.
Both men have been taking turns piloting Si2 around the world, but have different respective roles within the project – while Piccard outlined the project’s vision and political reach and brought together the partners who provided funds and technology for this adventure, Borschberg pulled together the team that designed and constructed Si2 and drives the airplane’s technological innovations into new engineering solutions.
Piccard’s historic flight can be tracked live on www.solarimpulse.com thanks to eight live cameras in the cockpit, in the Mission Control Centre in Monaco and on the ground.
