Solar Impulse 2 Completes Historical 17 Hour Fuel-Free Flight

The Solar Impulse 2 completed the 13th leg of its fuel-free journey around the globe.

A view of the Solar Impulse 2 after taking off from Al Bateen Airport in United Arab Emirates. (Photo: Reuters)

A swiss-made solar-powered airplane, the Solar Impulse 2, landed at in Lehig Valley Airport, Pennsylvania, in an around-the-world journey to promote clean technology.

Manned by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, who set the record in 2010 for the longest manned solar flight and greatest height reached by a solar aircraft, are in the last leg of their America journey, their last destination being New York, after which they will set out to other places.

Bertrand Piccard, who was flying the craft, completed a total distance of 750 km, flying across Ohio, briefly touching West Virginia, and crossing Pennsylvania to land at the airport close to Allentown.

The wings of the Solar Impulse 2 are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries, and all the flights of the Solar Impulse 2 are completely fuel-free.

The Swiss duo started their journey from Abu Dhabi in March 2015, in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, in the hopes of promoting environmental conservation and to raise awareness about green technology.

The flight was postponed after parts of the Solar Impluse 2’s mobile hangar got deflated. According to the Solar Impulse blog:

It’s definitely been a tumultuous 24 hours for Solar Impulse. A part of the mobile hangar deflated on 24 May for about 2 minutes over the plane and the flight was postponed. Now the opportunity for Bertrand to take off to Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania has reappeared for 25 May.