Has Departed Hawaii En Route To Mountain View, CA

After nearly a year on the ground, Solar Impulse 2 has departed Hawaii, continuing its attempt to be the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the globe.

The flight departed Hawaii at 1216 EDT (0616 local time) from Kalaeloa Airport-John Rodgers Field on Barbers Point to begin its second leg across the Pacific.

The circumnavigation attempt began in March of last year in Abu Dhabi, and SI2 arrived in Hawaii on 3 July 2015 after a record-breaking flight of five days and nights (117 hours and 52 minutes) and around 4,800 nm flight from Japan with by André Borschberg flying the aircraft. During the flight, the airplane suffered battery damage due to overheating which led to an unforeseen pause in the adventure – it was going to take the team more time to replace the batteries than the remaining time left before the end of the season with long enough days, and short enough nights, to continue the round-the-world flight.

Once the new batteries were installed and tested, it was a matter of waiting for a favorable weather window to resume the flight.

That window opened today.

The flight is expected to take about 62 hours. “These upcoming legs from Hawaii to the West Coast and further on will be extremely challenging for both pilots and the aircraft as it will be across the US land mass and over the Atlantic Ocean,” said Jakob Burkard, the FAI Official Observer.

The team identified Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, East of San Francisco (California, USA) as the target. Additionally, four other potential destinations have been set in order to leave maximum flexibility for route planning: Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles or Vancouver.

The mission is then planned to continue onward to New York, Europe or North Africa and then its final destination of Abu Dhabi (UAE). Having been appointed as “judge” by the Swiss Aero Club, Mr. Burkard’s main responsibility is to ensure that the FAI rules and the Sporting Code are respected and that the requirements to qualify for the record attempts are fulfilled.

(Images from the Solar Impulse 2 Facebook page)

FMI: www.solarimpulse.com/sitv