The flight from Nagoya, Japan to Honolulu’s Kalaeloa Airport was the longest and probably most intensely watched stretch of Solar Impulse 2’s round-the-world effort. The fuel-less plane touched down in Hawaii at 11:55 a.m. EST.
Solar Impulse 2 broke two records, one for the longest period of time in the air, and one for distance covered in a manned solar-powered flight. The duration of the flight is also a record for a solo, unfueled flight.
The landing in Hawaii signals the completion of the eighth leg of a planned 13, in the attempt to show to the world the potential of renewable energy and clean technology. Solar Impulse Chairman Bertrand Piccard has been taking turns with fellow Swiss pilot Borschberg in flying the solar-powered plane on its five-month journey around the world.
Piccard spoke with Fox News. “This was my vision when I created that project – it was to have an airplane that can fly with no fuel,” he said, during a phone interview earlier this week. “This is fantastic, to prove that clean technology can achieve [the] impossible.”
Piccard is hoping the flight of Solar Impulse 2 will create some added interest in technologies such as LED lights, electric cars and lightweight vehicles, as well as clean energy sources.
The next part of the journey will entail flying from Hawaii to Phoenix, Arizona, completing the second half of the Pacific leg of the journey. Then, it will be on to New York, and after a stopover there, it’s on across the Atlantic Ocean. Depending on weather conditions, the Solar Impulse will stop again, either in southern Europe, or northern Africa.