Abu Dhabi: After several years of preparations, the Solar Impulse 2 is ready to take off from Abu Dhabi on Monday, and will circumnavigate the globe relying solely on solar power.
Abu Dhabi has been acting as the host city for the Solar Impulse 2 and has heavily supported the innovative project through Masdar. The Solar Impulse 2 will end its journey by returning to Abu Dhabi by the end of July after flying around 35,000 km in 617 hours.
The founder and co-founder of the Solar Impulse 2 project, Dr Bertrand Piccard, and Andre Borschberg — both pilots — briefed media in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, giving their thoughts on the upcoming journey.
“Today is an emotional day, last 12 years have been extremely special to realise your dream. Off course, the road has been uphill, there have been a lot of challenges, but it has been very joyful as well because we had fantastic people working with us,” said Borschberg, who will pilot the aircraft during the first half of its trip.
“In the last two months, each time I got a phone call, it was about a problem, and it was extremely stressful,” he said.
Dr Bertrand Piccard said one of the main challenges of the project was to have people believe in it. “It’s not easy to be pioneers, it’s not easy to be explorers, because in every single hour of your life you meet people who will doubt you, people who will tell you it’s impossible.
“The most important thing in life is what we learn, and what we learn is that we can embrace the unknown, that we can use all the doubts and question marks as stimulation for creativity and imagination,” he added.
According to Dr Piccard, people will be able to watch and track the entire journey live, and see everything that’s going on, including inside the cockpit, with efforts made to make the journey as interactive as possible through the official website of www.solarimpulse.com.
On who would pilot the aircraft at the start of its journey and take-off, Dr Piccard said the matter was decided just four days ago. “It’s really funny because we have decided that four days ago, although we know each other for 12 years. Andre has explained all the problems, all the difficulties, and all the hazards to have this airplane ready. He has led the technical team to build this plane, and I think it’s absolutely natural that he starts this flight around the world.”
Borschberg said he also found it fitting for Dr Piccard to pilot the plane back to Abu Dhabi, as he had launched the project several years ago. “Bertrand had his vision 15 years ago and initiated the project a few years later and, for me, it would be great if he could do the last leg, completing what he has been dreaming about with this vision.”
— The writer is a trainee at Gulf News
