Thread: Solar Plane Aiming for First Round-The-World Flight Lands in India

AHMEDABAD, INDIA—
The first round-the-world solar-powered flight landed in India on Wednesday, the second leg of a 35,000-km (22,000-mile) journey seeking to demonstrate that flying long distances fueled by renewable energy is possible.

The Solar Impulse 2 arrived in the west Indian city of Ahmedabad after a flight of about 15 hours over the Arabian Sea from Muscat in Oman.

“It's a privilege to fly in an aeroplane like that,” pilot Bertrand Piccard told reporters after landing.

Piccard and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg will take turns at the controls of Solar Impulse 2, which began its journey in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, as it makes its way around the globe in about 25 flight days at speeds of between 50 kph and 100 kph (30 mph to 60 mph).

The next stop is the north Indian city of Varanasi, the constituency of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made boosting clean energy a priority for his government.

After leaving India, the plane will make stopovers in Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and flying across the United States and southern Europe to arrive back in Abu Dhabi by late July.

The aircraft is as heavy as a family car at 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) but has a wingspan as wide as the largest airliner.

The design and construction of the Solar Impulse took 12 years. A first version of the craft rolled out in 2009 and broke records for height and distance travelled by a manned solar plane.

Solar Plane Aiming for First Round-The-World Flight Lands in India

You can follow the flight here: Solar Impulse RTW

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Solar Impulse 2: Photos of the Historic Round-the-World Flight

A solar-powered plane has embarked on an unprecedented flight around the world. The aircraft, known as Solar Impulse 2, is designed to fly day and night without using any fuel. The plane took off from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, and will circumnavigate the globe as part of an initiative that is expected to last until July. Check out these photos of the Solar Impulse 2 mission.

Solar Impulse 2 took off from Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, to kick off the first leg of its round-the-world flight . The plane's first stop will be in Oman.

Touching down

The Solar Impulse 2 lands after the first leg of its record-setting around the world flight.

Bet they have a good weather team planning out the routes as winds will have a huge effect on their progress.

Good to see they're bypassing Thailand. I worry that if they did go through Thai airspace, or worse yet, land on the ground, that someone would find a way to run them down in a pick-up truck, accidentally of course.

Solar-Powered Plane Lands in Myanmar on 3rd Leg of Journey

YANGON—
A solar-powered plane landed in Myanmar on Thursday night, the third leg of a round-the-world trip aimed at highlighting clean energy.

Dozens of trees had to be cleared ahead of the Solar Impulse 2's arrival at the Mandalay International Airport for its giant mobile hangar and exhibition tent, said Taik Aung, the country's director of air navigation and safety division. Towering shrubs along the runway also needed to be trimmed to accommodate the plane's 72-meter wing span, said Corinne Henchoz Pignani, of the Swiss Embassy in Yangon.

The Impulse 2 - the first aircraft powered by solar energy - has 12 scheduled halts during its five-month journey.

Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are taking turns flying the aircraft, which is powered by more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings that recharge the plane's batteries.

The single-seat, Swiss-made plane left the northern Indian town of Varanasi early Thursday after several weather delays and flew over the Bay of Bengal and reached Mandalay at 7:50 p.m.

As the plane touches down in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, a band of hundreds of students played music and dancers performed a regional dance wearing elephant costumes decorated with gold and glass gems.

The flight has attracted attention from people who see solar power as a future source of clean, renewable energy.

Two other aircraft - an ATR 72 and Ilyushin 76 - were carrying equipment for the solar plane and a 70 support staff, said Soe Paing, a member of the plane's local task force team. Myanmar's government was picking up the tab for the 20,000 gallons of fuel needed for the support planes on the Mandalay leg, he said.

The Solar Impulse 2 is scheduled to continue onward to Chongqing and Nanjing in China on Sunday. It then heads over the Pacific Ocean, landing in Hawaii and the U.S. mainland before flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Some legs of the trip, such as over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, means five days and five nights of flying solo. But the pilots have prepared for the exhaustive long stretches: Borschberg has been practicing yoga, while Piccard uses self-hypnosis to calm himself.

Solar-Powered Plane Lands in Myanmar on 3rd Leg of Journey

Landing on 3rd leg, always rough.

Dozens of trees had to be cleared ahead of the Solar Impulse 2's arrival at the Mandalay International Airport for its giant mobile hangar and exhibition tent, said Taik Aung, the country's director of air navigation and safety division. Towering shrubs along the runway also needed to be trimmed to accommodate the plane's 72-meter wing span, said Corinne Henchoz Pignani, of the Swiss Embassy in Yangon.

That's ironic. It's a solar powered plane, which one might assume is meant to showcase technology that could result in a greener planet, and they're cutting down dozens of trees to make room for it.