World’s only solar powered plane completes US circuit in its charge to circle the world
World’s only solar power plane flies over Statue of Liberty in New York ending its tour across the US in its mission to circle the world powered only by the solar energy.
The plane was on its 14th leg of a journey that began in Abu Dhabi in 2015 March 9th through Asia, to the pacific ocean to get to the United States.
Cameras captures the light craft as it circled the statue, cruised on the Manhattan skyline and turning around to make a landing at New York’s Kennedy Airport.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg said over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. “It’s a dream here.”
The Solar impulse will be crossing the Atlantic to Europe and to Middle East in it next leg.
Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard’s solar Impulse project intends to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power and to bring attention to clean technologies. The two are taking it turns with to fly the aircraft on its journey across the globe since the plane only has a single seat.
“We received very positive and heart-warming responses during our journey through the United States, because it’s a country of pioneers and explorers,” said Piccard, in a statement Saturday. “It’s amazing to see to what extent people understand not only what we do, but also why we do it: to show that if we all used the same clean technologies as Solar Impulse on the ground we could create jobs, enhance profits and boost economic growth, while also protecting the environment.”
Borschberg completed the world’s longest non-stop solo flight, a four-day, 21-hour and 52-minute excursion from Japan to Hawaii last summer. That record-breaking flight damaged the plane’s battery. Because of the time needed to repair it and the decreasing sunlight as a result of the changing seasons, the pilots called off their attempt to complete the trip in a single year. The plane spent the winter in Hawaii. In April the plane took off from Hawaii to San Francisco from there to New York.
Such a pleasure to land in #NYC! For the 14th time we celebrate sustainability with @MoetHennessy 🎉 pic.twitter.com/2xCwSywsdm
— André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) June 11, 2016
