Solar Impulse eyes history
The revolutionary Solar Impulse 2 aircraft took off early yesterday for a six-day, six-night flight over the Pacific Ocean, the most ambitious leg of its quest to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun.
Pilot Andre Borschberg, 62, left the ground in Nanjing, in eastern China, heading for the US island of Hawaii, at about 2:40am, after extended delays awaiting a suitable weather window over safety concerns.
The 8,500 kilometre flight could set a record for duration by a single pilot, organisers said.
"I cross my fingers and I hope to cross the Pacific," Borschberg told reporters just hours before the take-off.
It is the seventh and longest section of the maiden solar-powered global circumnavigation, an attempt to promote green energy. The journey began in Abu Dhabi in March and is scheduled for 12 legs, with a total flight time of around 25 days.
Solar Impulse 2 is powered by more than 17,000 solar cells built into wings that, at 72 metres, are longer than those of a Boeing 747 and approaching those of an Airbus A380 superjumbo.
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