Fly Non-Stop

Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane is now ready to fly across America soon

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, the Swiss pilots and founders of Solar Impulse, have announced that their solar-powered airplane will attempt a coast-to-coast crossing of the United States soon without using a single drop of fuel.

It will be the first time that an airplane, capable of flying 24 hours non-stop day and night powered exclusively by solar energy, will fly across America. Solar Impulse will leave in early May from San Francisco (Moffett Airfield) and stop in four US cities including Phoenix, Dallas Fort Worth and Washington D.C. before reaching New York’s JFK airport, its final destination in early July.

Following in the footsteps of the American founding fathers of aviation, Solar Impulse’s pioneering endeavour across the United States will be a highly significant. It is the last mission before attempting a zero-fuel round-the-world flight in 2015.

Solar Impulse wants to inspire and motivate as many people as possible throughout its journey across America. “We want to show that with clean technologies, a passionate team and a farreaching pioneering vision one can achieve the impossible,” said Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse initiator, Chairman and pilot. He further added: “If we all challenged certitudes by driving change and being pioneers in our everyday lives, we can create innovative solutions for society’s biggest challenges.”

With the wingspan of a jumbo jet (63.4 metres/208 ft) and the weight of a small car (1,600 kg/3,527 lb), this revolutionary airplane is being hailed by experts as a technological wonder. “A flying laboratory for clean technologies, this prototype is the result of seven years of intense work in the fields of materials science, energy management and man-machine interface. Many of these technologies can also be applied to sectors beyond aviation,” said André Borschberg, Solar Impulse co-founder, CEO and pilot.