Solar Impulse arrives in Hawaii, completing historic flight

The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft completed a historic flight in its quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel, touching down gracefully in Hawaii on Friday after the most arduous leg of its journey. The sun-powered plane, piloted by veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg, took five days to make the historic voyage from Japan to Hawaii and landed shortly after dawn at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu. Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard have been alternating the long solo flights aboard the plane. The flight from Japan to Hawaii was the eighth of 13 legs.

This flight to Hawaii is not only an aviation historic first but also a historic first for energy and cleantechs.

Bertrand Piccard

The completed 4,000-mile leg from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii was not only the world’s longest solar-powered flight both by time and distance; it also set the record for longest solo flight by time. Mission organizers described the journey as having taken “pilot and aircraft to the limits” of their endurance under what the flight’s team described as “difficult” conditions. The whole trip from Japan to Hawaii took about four days and 22 hours, with the Swiss aviator taking catnaps of only 20 minutes at a time to maintain control of the pioneering plane. Borschberg easily beat the previous longest solo endurance flight by Steve Fossett, who flew for 76 hours and 45 minutes in 2006.

Science solar impulse