Solar aircraft to be flown across the Pacific in world record bid
A Swiss pilot and his craft powered by nothing but sunlight will launch an attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean on Monday in what will be the longest solo plane flight in history.
For five days and nights, André Borschberg and his solar aircraft will battle exhaustion, discomfort and technological limitations as they cross the lonely 5,000 miles of ocean that swallowed Amelia Earhart 78 years ago.
Since beginning their circumnavigation of the world in Abu Dhabi in March, Borschberg and his flight partner Bertrand Piccard have been piloting the single-seater Solar Impulse II on alternating legs of up to 20 hour, breaking records for solar flight as they go. But Borschberg’s flight from Nanjing in China to the islands of Hawaii will dwarf all their previous feats, and smash the previous endurance record for solo flight in any plane by around two days.
“The next leg is what I call the moment of truth,” he said. “The first time we fly many days, many nights with a solar-powered airplane, the first time that we fly over the ocean, the first time that one pilot flies alone for so long. We are exploring new territories.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/25/solar-aircraft-impulse-2-flown-pacific-world-record-bid