High hopes: Pilot to fly solar plane across Pacific for 5 days and nights

André Borschberg, 62, is due to fly over the Pacific Ocean for five days and five nights in the plane that has more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings to power its motors and recharge its batteries for nighttime flying. The flight from China to Hawaii is the longest leg of the first attempt to fly around the world without fuel. The 8,175-kilometer (5,079-mile) flight from Nanjing in eastern China to Hawaii — which may take off Thursday, depending on weather — is the seventh of 12 flights.

Of course the challenge is on the pilot side as well … can I stay alert for this leg and be able to pilot this airplane, can I keep my energy at the right level, can I keep my spirits, my mindset to get this airplane to Hawaii.

André Borschberg

Borschberg and another Swiss pilot, Bertrand Piccard, are taking turns flying the single-seater Swiss plane during a five-month journey to promote renewable energy use. None of the previous legs were more than 20 hours — compared with an estimated flight time of 120 hours to Hawaii. The aircraft will climb to the altitude of Mount Everest, almost 9,000 meters (29,500 feet), during the day to get more sunlight, recharge the batteries and store more energy. At nighttime, the plane will fly lower, at a minimum of 1,000 meters (3,000 feet).

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