Solar-Powered Plane has thus landed after a record-breaking five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg and his single-seat aircraft landed at Kalaeloa, a small airport outside Honolulu.
Around 118-hour voyage from Nagoya broke the record for the world’s longest nonstop solo flight, his team said. The wings were equipped with 17,000 solar cells that powered propellers and charged batteries. The plane ran on stored energy at night.
About 200 people, including the media, witnessed the touch-down shortly before 6 am and the engineless aircraft landed in silence, the only sound the hum of a nearby helicopter. The plane’s ideal flight speed is about 28 mph though that can double during the day when sun’s rays are strongest.
The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs over 5,000 pounds or about as much as a minivan or mid-sized truck. The project, which began in 2002 and is estimated to cost more than $100 million, is meant to highlight the importance of renewable energy and the spirit of innovation.
Solar-powered air travel is not yet commercially practical, however, given the slow travel time, weather and weight constraints of the aircraft. After Hawaii, the plane will head to Phoenix and then New York. Piccard will make the flight to Phoenix, as mentioned in the press release by the organizers.
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