The detailed global flight route of Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) has been revealed. The Swiss co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, and their partners said that the first solar-powered airplane able to fly day and night will land in 12 locations across the world and travel 35,000km in the first attempt to fly around the globe without using a drop of fuel. Piccard and Borschberg hope to demonstrate “how clean technologies and a pioneering spirit can change the world.”
Si2 will take-off from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in late February or early March 2015 and return by late July or early August 2015.
The route includes stops in Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; and Chongqing and Nanjing, China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across continental USA, stopping in three locations: Phoenix, New York City (JFK International Airport) and a location in the Midwest that will be decided depending on weather conditions. After crossing the Atlantic, the final legs will include a stopover in southern Europe or North Africa before Si2 arrives back in Abu Dhabi.
