Solar plane on course to complete Atlantic crossing

Solar Impulse 2, has entered Spanish airspace with the aim of landing in Seville to complete its Atlantic crossing, BBC had reported on Thursday.

June 23, 2016 12:31 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 01:05 pm IST - London

Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered airplane, piloted by Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard prepares to land in Seville, Spain, after finishing a 70 hours flight over the Atlantic ocean, June 23, 2016.  Reuters

Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered airplane, piloted by Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard prepares to land in Seville, Spain, after finishing a 70 hours flight over the Atlantic ocean, June 23, 2016. Reuters

The world’s largest solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, has entered Spanish airspace with the aim of landing in Seville to complete its Atlantic crossing, BBC had reported on Thursday.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard will bring the craft down on Thursday morning if air traffic controllers give clearance.

The Swiss adventurer has made swift progress over the ocean since leaving New York on Monday.

The current flight is the 15th stage in Solar Impulse’s bid to circumnavigate the globe.

Once in Seville, the mission managers will plot a route to Abu Dhabi where the venture began in March, 2015.

Solar Impulse has moved rapidly around the Earth since renewing its challenge in Hawaii on April 21.

In 2015, the plane flew eight stages from Abu Dhabi to Kalaeloa, including a remarkable four-day, 21-hour leg over the western Pacific- the longest solo flight in aviation history in terms of the time it took.

But it was damage to its batteries on that stage that forced Solar Impulse to then lay up for 10 months, for repairs and to wait for optimum daylight length in the northern hemisphere to return.

Piccard shares the flying duties with his business partner, Andre Borschberg.

The former Swiss air force pilot will take charge for the next leg, across the Mediterranean.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.