Solar Impulse to Resume its Flight to Hawaii Today at 17:30 UTC
Solar Impulse is now ready to go. Weather permitting, it will take off from Nagoya, Japan, today at 17.30 UTC, and thus resume its historical attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean and reach Hawaii.
More than 6500 km separate the two islands, which means that the flight is expected to last 120 hours. Solar Impulse co-founder André Borschberg will pilot the single-seater aircraft, facing the challenge to spend many hours in a tiny cockpit while enduring low temperatures without sleeping.
Solar Impulse's intial plan was to cross the Pacific from China to Hawaii, but the solar-powered plane was forced to divert its route and land in Nagoya after a developing cold front over the Pacific made it impossible for Borschberg to continue his journey.
Once in Japan, reparations and maintenance work were made on the airplane after an aileron was damaged. The electric system had to be fully checked as it rained on the airplane on its landing. Finally, the airplane was weighted to make sure there was no water stuck somewhere in the airplane.
If Borschberg completes his epic flight to Hawaii, he will supersede the performances achieved earlier this month during the journey from Nanjing, China, to Nagoya (records still to be ratified by FAI).
| Sub-Class | Type of Record | Performance | Date | Claimant | Status | Id |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | Duration | 44 h 10 min | 2015-06-01 | André Borschberg (SUI) | preliminary record claim received | 17557 |
| CS | Free Distance along a course | 2'614.5 km | 2015-06-01 | André Borschberg (SUI) | preliminary record claim received | 17558 |
| CS | Straight Distance - Free flight | 1720.3 km | 2015-06-01 | André Borschberg (SUI) | preliminary record claim received | 17556 |
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(Photo credit: Solar Impulse)
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