Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the world’s first solar flight circumventing the globe without a drop of fuel, landed here on Tuesday night after a delay of two days.
The Swiss aircraft touched down at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 11.24 p.m. Gujarat Chief Secretary D.J. Pandian received pilot Bertrand Piccard at the airport and presented him with a Gujarati shawl. “I am happy to be in India,” said Mr. Piccard.
This is the airplane’s second stop. Solar Impulse 2 began its journey from Abu Dhabi on Monday and made a stopover at the Muscat International Airport in Oman on Tuesday morning. From Oman, it headed for Ahmedabad, covering a distance of 1,465 km in 16 hours. It will be stationed here for two days for the pilots to hold meetings with government officials, stakeholders and civil society members. The Aditya Birla Group is the India host for Solar Impulse 2.
Mr. Piccard and Andre Boschberg, co-pilots and co-founders of the experimental aircraft, are taking turns to fly the single-seater, 2,300-kg aircraft in a journey around the world, spread over 25 flight days of five months and covering 35,000 km. The Oman-Ahmedabad trip was piloted by Mr. Piccard, one of the first balloonists to circle the earth.
The initiative is aimed at spreading the importance of renewable energy and clean technologies.
“Solar Impulse was not built to carry passengers but to carry messages. We want to demonstrate the importance of innovation and pioneering spirit, to encourage people to question their old certitudes and habits. The world needs to implement new ways of improving the quality of life. Clean technologies and renewable forms of energy are part of the solution, as they can simultaneously protect the environment and create jobs and profits for the industry,” Mr. Piccard said in a release.
Solar Impulse 2 took the two promoters 12 years to develop and carry out feasibility tests. The aircraft will head next for Varanasi, where it will make a pit stop. It is expected to land in Varanasi on the night of March 15 before leaving for Mandalay in Myanmar.
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