Solar Impulse — the Sun-powered airplane — has made a dramatic landing in New York City to end its two-month cross-country flight across the US, despite a rip in the fabric of the left wing.
It is for the first time a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by solar energy has crossed the US from the West to the East Coasts without using a single drop of fuel.
The prototype plane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg — completed ‘Across America Mission’ powered only by solar energy to end its journey that began over two months ago.
Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse Co-founder and CEO, landed Solar Impulse at John F Kennedy Airport, three hours earlier than planned because of a rip in the fabric on the lower side of the left wing.
The flight took 18 hours 23 minutes with a departure from Washington Dulles.
“This last leg was especially difficult due to the damage of the fabric on the left wing. It obliged the team to envisage all the possible scenarios, including bailing out over the Atlantic,” said Borschberg shortly after landing.
“But this type of problem is inherent to every experimental endeavour. In the end, this didn’t prevent us from succeeding in our Across America mission and provided an invaluable learning experience in preparation for the round-the-world tour in 2015,” said Borschberg.
The arrival of Solar Impulse in New York City marks the culmination of its ambitious journey Across America, which started on May 3rd in San Francisco, California. The journey took a total of 105 hours, 41 minutes and 5650 km flown at an average speed of 53.3 kph.
Before reaching New York, Piccard and Borschberg alternately flew Solar Impulse to Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St Louis, Cincinnati and Washington DC.
The plane stopped over in each of these cities giving the opportunity to the team to organise public viewings and political meetings with high level representatives such as Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, to promote clean technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energies.
“Flying coast-to-coast has always been a mythical milestone full of challenges for aviation pioneers. During this journey, we had to find solutions for a lot of unforeseen situations, which obliged us to develop new skills and strategies,” said Piccard.
“In doing so, we also pushed the boundaries of clean technologies and renewable energies to unprecedented levels,” he said.