Solar Impulse: Pilot sets record

July 04, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 02:05 am IST - HAWAII:

The flight is the longest leg of an around-the-world voyage planned by two Swiss pilots who have been taking turns flying the single-seat airplane. It is also the riskiest because the plane has nowhere to land in an emergency. One of the pilots, Andre Borschberg, broke the record for the longest nonstop solo flight on the way to Hawaii, the team organising the trip said. He shattered the previous record set by the late U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett, who flew around the world in 76 hours in a specially designed jet in 2006. “Can you imagine that a solar-powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane?” Bertrand Piccard, the aircraft’s other pilot, said in a statement. “This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible goals.”

The aircraft is scheduled to land at a small airport outside Honolulu in the early hours. Its next destination after leaving the islands is Phoenix, but the departure date hasn’t been announced.AP

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.