Solar Impulse's Possible Flight Path After Pacific Crossing Toward Circumnavigation of the Globe
Solar-powered plane could stop in Phoenix this week.
— -- After touching down in San Francisco this weekend, the Solar Impulse plane could continue its journey across the United States as early as this week, making several pit stops before an Atlantic Ocean crossing.
One of the pilots, Andre Borschberg, said the plane's next stop could be Phoenix, but added that will depend on the weather. The Solar Impulse weighs over 5,000 pounds, about the size of a vehicle, and is powered by the sun's rays. Energy is stored in batteries on the aircraft, allowing the plane to fly both day and night.
The trip began in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, with stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan, before flying over the Pacific Ocean and reaching Hawaii in July 2015.
Solar Impulse was grounded in Hawaii after the plane's battery system sustained damage during the Kapan-to-Hawaii leg of the trip. After at least two planned stops in the United States, Solar Impulse will fly from New York to Europe, according to the project's website. The final leg, which will be from either Europe or Northern Africa to Abu Dhabi is expected to take 120 hours and be completed this summer.
Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard began the pioneering project with the goal of highlighting clean energy.
"Maybe it will be boring in 20 years when all the airplanes will be electric and people will say 'Oh it's routine.' But now, today, an airplane that is electric, with electric engines, that produces its own energy with the sun, it can never be boring," Piccard told the Associated Press.
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