First Solar Powered Flight Around World Will Hit The Sky Next Year
What great news, Abu Dhabi! The first solar-powered flight around the world will take off from and touch down in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The announcement was made in New York during the United Arab Emirate reception on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in the presence of Didier Burkhalter, President of the Swiss Confederation, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan, UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs and Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary of the United Nations.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, is the host partner of Solar Impulse. The team will be gathered at the start of January for testing and training before the start of the solar-powered flight around the world. Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will be 2 pilots of the flight.
Abu Dhabi, Masdar and Solar Impulse have in common a pioneering spirit, a long-term vision and a desire to explore new horizons. We share a commitment to foster the development of technological advances in alternative energy sources in order to contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable future”, said Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar.
Borscherg, Co-Founder, CEO and Pilot of Solar Impulse, added: “We have chosen this location as being the best and most suitable departure point for the round-the-world tour, due to its climate, infrastructure and commitment to clean technologies.”
The round-the-world tour is expected to take 25 flying days over a period of four to five months. The team is still working out details of the trip, but the company has revealed plans to stop over in Asia, the United States, and Southern Europe or North Africa before returning to Abu Dhabi in July of 2015.
Solar Impulse 2 will be delivered to Abu Dhabi by cargo plane from the Payerne Aerodrome in Switzerland towards the end of the year and will be exhibited during the World Future Energy Summit as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which is hosted my Masdar between January 17th and 22nd, 2015.
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