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Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, Swiss co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, and the company’s partners have revealed the detailed global flight route of Solar Impulse 2 (Si2). The first solar-powered plane able to fly day and night will land in 12 locations across the world and travel 35,000 kilometers (about 22,000 miles) in the first attempt to fly around the globe without using any fuel.
Si2 will take-off from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in late February or early March and return by late July or early August 2015. The route includes stops in Oman, India, Myanmar and China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across the continental United States stopping in Phoenix and New York City; a stop in the Midwest will be decided based on weather conditions. After crossing the Atlantic, the final legs include a stop-over in southern Europe or North Africa before arriving back in Abu Dhabi.
The flight will span approximately 25 flight days, spread over five months and cover approximately 35,000 kilometers at speeds of between 50 and 100 kilometers an hour (31 and 62 miles an hour).
Solar Impulse unveiled the flight path in Abu Dhabi alongside partner representatives. These included main partners Solvay, Omega, Schindler and ABB. They were also joined by official partners Altran, Bayer, Google, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Swisscom and Moët Hennessy alongside Solar Impulse’s host partner Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.
The public can follow the adventure on a daily basis on www.solarimpulse.com.