14 DAY TRIAL // In April 2014, the Solar Impulse team introduced the world to a cutting-edge solar-powered plane and promised that, come 2015, the aircraft would successfully complete an epic round-the-world trip.
Right on schedule, it was this past March 8, at precisely 11:10 p.m. EDT, that the Solar Impulse 2 plane embarked on this much-awaited flight.
The aircraft, shown in the photos accompanying this article, took flight from the Al Bateen Executive Airport in the city of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The historic flight will take weeks to complete
Live Science tells us that, having left Abu Dhabi, the solar-powered plane headed for Oman. After visiting this county, the aircraft will move on to fly over India, Myanmar and China.
Its journey will then take it over the Pacific Ocean and across the continental US. While flying over this country, it will stop to visit three cities. Eventually, it will cross the Atlantic, fly over Europe or North Africa and return to Abu Dhabi.
Should all go as planned, the plane will be back at the Al Bateen Executive Airport in the United Arab Emirates' capital city sometime towards the end of July, maybe a tad later in early August.
The pilots who will take turns flying the sun-powered plane are Solar Impulse co-founders André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard. When the aircraft took to the skies this past March 8, André Borschberg was the one handling its controls.
This plane needs no fuel to remain airborne
The Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 72 meters (236 feet). It tips the scale at about 2,300 kilograms (5,070 pounds). By comparison, its predecessor, i.e. Solar Impulse, had a wingspan 8 meters (26.3 feet) shorter and weighed 1,600 kilograms (3,527 pounds).
Despite its impressive size, the Solar Impulse 2 sun-powered aircraft needs no fuel to take to the skies and remain airborne. Instead, it draws power from roughly 17,000 solar cells fitted onto its wings.
Whatever excess energy these solar cells produce throughout the course of a day is stored with the help of batteries and can be used to power the plane during nighttime. That's right, the Solar Impulse 2 is a sun-powered aircraft that can keep moving in the dark.
When it returns to Abu Dhabi a few weeks from now, the plane will officially become the first solar-powered aircraft ever to circle the globe. Members and supporters of the Solar Impulse team expect that this achievement will help make green energy sources a tad more popular than they currently are.
