Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, the Swiss co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, along with their Partners, yesterday 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 in the first attempt to fly around the globe without using a drop of fuel. For pilots Piccard and Borschberg, the drive behind their mission is to demonstrate how clean technologies and a pioneering spirit can change the world.

 

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 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.

 

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. Solar Impulse is an idea born in Switzerland.

 

The first round-the-world solar adventure will span approximately 25 flight days, spread over 5 months and covering approximately 35,000 kilometers at speeds of between 50 and 100 km/h.