Solar plane completes a 1,200km flight to Nanjing
Print Edition
A PIONEERING plane that is attempting to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun flew 1,190 kilometers across China yesterday to complete the latest stage of its journey, organizers said.
Solar Impulse 2 arrived in the eastern city of Nanjing about 11:40pm after completing a 17-and-a-half-hour flight from the southwestern city of Chongqing.
The plane had been held up in Chongqing by repeated meteorological delays and after one of its co-pilots returned to Europe to be treated for migraine.
With pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls, the plane took off at 6:08am, the organizers said in a statement.
Solar Impulse 2 arrived in China from Myanmar on March 31. It was scheduled to make only a brief stop, but was repeatedly held up.
Spokesman Marc Baumgarten said the initial delay was due to heavy cross winds.
Another departure attempt last Thursday was foiled “due to a narrow window for the landing in Nanjing,” the organizers said on Twitter
Co-pilot Andre Borschberg is being treated in Switzerland for migraine problems.
“It was necessary for me ... to take a break in order to ensure the future of the project,” he said via Twitter.
The team behind Solar Impulse 2 hopes to promote green energy. The plane is a successor to Solar Impulse, which made a 26-hour flight in 2010, proving its ability to store enough power in its batteries to fly at night.
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