Abu Dhabi: The Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi on Monday morning in an epic adventure marking the start of its five-month journey across the world powered solely by the sun, before it heads back to Abu Dhabi in late July.
Dignitaries and media gathered together on the tarmac of Al-Bateen Executive Airport to watch the take off of the single-seat aircraft. It will be fully powered by solar energy for the entirety of its trip -- and will not consume a single drop of fossil fuel to keep it in the sky.
The aircraft was piloted by André Borschberg, one of the founders of the Solar Impulse 2, for its maiden flight to Muscat, Oman.
Betrand Piccard, the co-founder behind the project, will then pilot the aircraft for its second journey, with both pilots alternating for the 12 flights.
The Solar Impulse 2 will face tough challenges: Some flights will take as long as five days straight, when it crosses the Pacific towards the United States, for a total of 120 hours of flying time.
"We have to fly for five days and five nights to do that, and it will be a challenge," said Piccard.
Weather conditions will also have to be closely monitored and followed, with negative weather conditions leading to possible to delays for the flight.
It will also stop at various locations around the world for rest and maintenance -- and also to spread the message about clean technologies.
Speaking after watching the take off, Piccard spoke of his joy at finally witnessing the aircraft going up into the sky, which culminates years of hard work.
“It’s a relief because we have been working so hard to start this adventure, and now finally the aeroplane is in the air, and we are now in the dream.”
Up until the moment of take off, the project had been stalled by some technical difficulties, according to Piccard.
“It was stressful until the last moment, there was a little electrical problem to solve at the last moment. To the last moment, we thought nothing can be taken for granted, every detail has to be won one after the other.
Masdar support
"But now here we go, we go with the spirit and friendship with Masdar, towards a vision with a future of renewable energies, and clean technologies.”
Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Co, is Abu Dhabi's multi-faceted renewable energy company with a mission to invest, incubate and establish a commercially viable new-energy industry in Abu Dhabi and around the world.
According to Piccard the aircraft will be flying at a speed of 25 knots, though the higher the aircraft goes, the faster the ground speed will become.
The aircraft will be flying at a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet during the day, and going down to 5,000 feet during the night with solar powered batteries providing the energy for the night flights.
The main message behind the Solar Impulse 2, says Piccard, is to also encourage people and society to move towards more clean and sustainable energy.
People will be able to watch and track the flight throughout its entire journey from the groups website, www.solarimpulse.com, with 24-hour live feeds.
Highlighting the significance of the flight, a link to a live feed was displayed by Google on its front page.
Abu Dhabi has been acting as the host city for the Solar Impulse 2, with Masdar working in close cooperation to help get the aircraft into the sky.
The writer is trainee at Gulf News
