Completing the longest leg of its trip around the world using only energy from the sun, the plane Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii on July 3, breaking records for longest distance traveled and longest solo flight for any aircraft.
The non-stop flight took Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg five days, taking off from Nagoya, Japan and landing at the Kalaeloa Airport in west Oahu on at 5:54 a.m., reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
The plane’s landing at Kalaeloa Airport in west Oahu is historic and significant, said Peter Forman, aviation historian. “It is the only airport within thousands and thousands of miles [from Japan]. It highlights Hawaii’s unique geography and how important this location is to air travel.”
Ewa Beach residents, Lester Martinez and his son, Lester Jr., came to watch history being made on their island. “I told him, ‘This is something you are going to remember one day.’ This is a 21st-Century event,” said the elder Martinez.
“Borschberg set aviation records for distance (4,480 miles) and duration (117 hours and 52 minutes) and set the duration record for a solo flight without refueling, the organizers said,” reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser. While traveling, the pilot had to use oxygen tanks to breathe, did yoga to stay physically fit and slept for 20 minutes at a time, putting the plane on auto pilot while he slept.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell mentioned the state’s goal of being free from fossil fuels as he welcomed Solar Impulse 2. Gov. David Ige said, in light of the state’s renewable energy commitment, “Andre and Bertrand you are an inspiration to us, believing in an idea with huge challenges.”
Solar Impulse Chairman and co-pilot Bertrand Piccard will be flying the next leg of the trip from Hawaii to Phoenix, Ariz.
The plane’s carbon-fiber body contains more than 17,000 solar cells. Its wingspan is 236 feet long, which is the same length as a commercial airliner’s, said the Honolulu Star Advertiser, but with a body that is considerably shorter. It also reported about “50 engineers and technicians, 80 technological partners and more than 100 advisers and suppliers contributed to the prototype and the final place. The flight is supported by 90 sponsors.”
Three of the sponsors are Google, Bayer and Omega. Solar Impulse is a company from Switzerland, and the Solar Impulse website says, “Switzerland is a leading country in Cleantech technology. It has developed a broad policy of sustainable use of its limited natural resources through water protection, wide-spread waste recycling, and innovative sustainable architectural concept.”
Besides breaking aviation records and advancing solar energy technology, it is hoped that publicity gained from the around-the-world flight will encourage millions of people to go to www.FutureisClean.org and voice their support for “an initiative aiming to encourage governments to replace old polluting devices by new clean technology, in order to save energy, natural resources and decrease CO2 emissions in a profitable way, creating jobs and economic growth while protecting the environment,” says a Solar Impulse news release.