Solar Airplane entered Chinese Air Space in Around the World Flight

The solar powered air space entered today its longest segment yet of the around the world flight attempt.

Can we fly in the future just with solar power? We could be closer than we think. The Solar Impulse 2 solar powered airplane is in the midst of a mission to fly around the world without a drop of fossil fuel. Today the green energy plane took off from Mandalay in Burma to fly to China. The Solar Impulse is flying to Chongqing with Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls of Si2.

This segment of the around the world tour is one of the most challenging since the beginning the mission. Bertrand Piccard will need to fly over the Himalayas, resist extremely cold conditions, and manage the oxygen mask for 15 hours straight. Weather is not ideal for Solar Impulse and this adds to the difficulty of flying through the area. 

On Sunday March 29th, Solar Impulse took off for its fifth flight from Mandalay (Myanmar) at 21:06 UTC, to Chongqing (China). Bertrand Piccard will fly the zero-fuel airplane on about 1375km (742NM) for an estimated time of 20 hours. An amazing opportunity to spread our message in Myan/3/and China: the Future is Clean. Leading global provider of elevators, escalators and related services, Schindler established China’s first industrial joint venture in 1980 and began operating as a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) in 2006. Schindler is pleased to accompany Solar Impulse in China, presenting the latest clean and green technology to the public, as well as Chinese developers, architects, urban designers and planners.

A The Swiss led around-the-world mission flights take place over 5 months from the beginning of March to the end of July 2015. The Solar Impulse 2 solar airplane around the world flight started in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirate. The route includes stops in Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; and Chongqing and Nanjing, China.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across the Continental U.S.A. stopping in three locations – Phoenix, and New York City at JFK. A location in the Midwest will be decided dependent 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 Solar Impulse 2 mission in numbers

• 2 pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.
• 1 airplane: Solar Impulse 2
• Zero fuel on board
• A 35,000km (22,000 miles) journey
• 500 flying hours approx.
• 10 legs approx., some lasting more than 5 days and nights
• A 5-month mission (March-August 2015)
• A 60 people support team

You can follow the solar plane mission live on the Solar Impulse site.