Sunday, 24/11/2024 | 13:55 GMT+7

Solar Impulse flies final leg of across America journey

08/07/2013

The solar-powered airplane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will fly to New York for the fifth and last leg of its Across America mission flights on Saturday, July 6th, 2013.

The solar-powered airplane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will fly to New York for the fifth and last leg of its Across America mission flights on Saturday, July 6th, 2013. It is the culmination of an epic which began on May 3rd in San Francisco. Piccard and Borschberg have taken turns in the single seat cockpit with stopovers in Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

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Solar Impulse is exclusively powered by 12,000 photovoltaic cells

This final leg marks the historic achievement of the coast-to-coast across America flights, which started May 3rd in San Francisco, with an airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, powered exclusively by solar power, provided by 12,000 PV cells.
 
Ambitious journey inspires people and governments worldwide to make a broader use of clean technologies.

With André Borschberg at the controls, Solar Impulse will take-off from Washington Dulles International Airport at around 5 a.m. EDT with an estimated landing time in New York John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2 a.m. EDT on Sunday, July 7th.

Solar Impulse’s ambitious journey Across America pushes energy efficiency to an unprecedented level and serves to inspire people and governments worldwide to make a broader use of clean technologies.

During its visit to Solar Impulse at Washington Dulles International Airport on June 17th, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz welcomed these accomplishments and emphasized how Solar Impulse aligns with the four Department of Energy priorities which are solar, energy storage, energy efficiency, and advanced materials.

This historic flight can be followed live on the website with a virtual cockpit and a live chat: www.solarimpulse.com

By Le My