A pilot today said that he is anxious but excited about flying a solar plane solo from China to Hawaii on the longest leg of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel.
Andre Boschberg, 62, is due to fly over the Pacific Ocean for five days and five nights in the plane that has more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings to power its motors and recharge its batteries for night time flying.
The Solar Impulse 2 set off from Abu Dhabi in March and has stopped in Oman, India and Myanmar. Borschberg and another Swiss pilot, Bertrand Piccard, are taking turns flying the single-seater Swiss plane during a five-month journey to promote renewable energy use.
The 8,175-kilometer flight from Nanjing in eastern China to Hawaii which may take off Thursday, depending on weather is the seventh of 12 flights. None of the previous legs were more than 20 hours compared with an estimated flight time of 120 hours to Hawaii. “It’s the most challenging, yes, in the sense that we never flew over the oceans,” Borschberg said in a phone interview from Nanjing.
“There are of course also question marks with the type of airplane we have, is it capable to fly solo with this type of energy, and of course the challenge is on the pilot side as well... can I stay alert for this leg and be able to pilot this airplane, can I keep my energy at the right level, can I keep my spirits, my mindset to get this airplane to Hawaii.”
The aircraft will climb to the altitude of Mount Everest, almost 9,000 meters, during the day to get more sunlight, recharge the batteries and store more energy. At night time, the plane will fly lower, at a minimum of 1,000 meters. The pilot will experience temperatures ranging from 35 degrees Celsius in the morning to minus 20 degrees Celsius early in the evening while the plane is still high up. “It’s winter and summer every day in the cockpit,” said Borschberg, who flew military jets for 25 years as a reserve pilot in the Swiss army and is an entrepreneur by profession.
He plans to take periods of rest of 20 minutes up to eight times a day, but said he doesn’t know if the weather or turbulence will let him. Borschberg said the plane has a “virtual co-pilot” that is a stabiliSation tool.
It will sound an alarm to wake him if the aircraft does something unplanned.