14 DAY TRIAL // The Solar Impulse plane is set to leave San Francisco, California this Friday morning at precisely 9 a.m. EDT (6 a.m. PDT) and embark on an environmentally friendly journey across the Unites States.
Though previous information said that the plane would begin its journey on May 1, it appears that a couple more days were needed to sort out various details.
By the looks of it, the plane's first stop will be Phoenix, Arizona.
Should things go as planned, the Solar Impulse will land there this coming Saturday, around 4 a.m. EDT (1 a.m. PDT).
Given the fact that it relies on sun power and therefore has no need to refuel every once in a while, this green-oriented plane could very easily fly from one coast to the other without ever taking the time to touch land.
As previously reported, its making several stops along the way has to do with allowing people to become acquainted with environmentally friendly technologies such as the ones used when designing and manufacturing this plane.
“Only by challenging common certitudes can there be change and, through conferences on educational themes, Solar Impulse wishes to motivate everybody to become a pioneer in the search for innovative solutions for society’s biggest challenges,” the team of researchers who worked on this project explained at a previous press conference.
According to Live Science, the Solar Impulse's next stop will be in Dallas, Texas. Unless whether conditions interfere, the plane will later visit St. Louis, Washington DC and New York City.
The journey is expected to come to an end by early July at the latest, the same source informs us.
The sun energy that this plane will use in order to travel from one coast of the United States to the other will be harvested with the help of solar cells embedded in the Solar Impulse's wings.
Once collected, the sun energy will be turned into electricity and made to power four electrical motors.