1/11
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • solar
    Solar Impulse 2 pilot Bertrand Piccard in Ahmedabad, India after landing.null
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull
  • Solar impulse 2
    nullnull

In a historic attempt to become the first plane to fly across the world powered solely by solar energy, experimental Swiss "Solar Impulse 2" has took off from Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and landed in Ahmedabad in India late at night.

9:32 pm:

9:10 pm, 10 March: 

The solar plane is expected to make 11 stops across the world over a period of five months.

Solar Impulse will land in Ahmedabad at around 9:30 pm (IST) on 10 March and the landing of the solar plane in Ahmedabad Airport for its grand welcome and takeoff for its next stop in Varanasi can be tracked here.

Pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will be staying in Ahmedabad for two days, during which they will be promoting clean technology by approaching the government, NGOs and educational institutions. Their clean energy awareness will be carried on to its next stop, Varanasi, according to India.com report.

Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) embarked on a circumnavigation of the entire Earth, starting from Abu Dhabi on 9 March at 03:12 UTC, making its second stop at Muscat in Oman on 10 March at 02:35 UTC; and travelling over the Arabian Sea to make its third landing in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

From Gujarat, the aircraft will head to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. After completing its journey across India, SI2 will pass by Mandalay in Burma, Chongqing and Nanjingin in China, Hawaii in Oceania and Phoenix (Arizona) in United States, where two more stops will be made, one in Mid-USA (which is yet to be determined) and the other in New York.

The last stop will either be Southern Europe or Morocco in North Africa, from where the SI2 will head back to Abu Dhabi. Both Piccard and Borschberg will take turns to fly the aircraft after each stop.

Solar Impulse is a project initiated by Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Piccard who is also its Chairman and pilot. Swiss businessman Borschberg is CEO, co-founder and pilot of SI.

Solar Impulse 2, which was built between 2011 & 2013, was first flown in 2014. It is a single-seater aircraft having a wingspan of 72 meter (larger than that of the Boeing 747-8I) and weighs just 2,300 kg, equivalent to that of a car.

The other specifications of the solar-powered aircraft include 17,000 solar cells built into the wing supply and four electric motors (17.5 CV each) with renewable energy. During the day, the solar cells recharge lithium batteries weighing 633 Kg (2077 lbs), which allow the aircraft to fly at night and therefore, to have virtually unlimited autonomy, the SI website says.