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| In this photo provided by Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered plane pilot Bertrand Piccard takes a selfie prior to landing in Seville in Spain on Thursday June 23, 2016. Photo:Solar Impulse/AP |
The Solar Impulse 2 was on Monday approaching the end of its epic bid to
become the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a
drop of fuel to promote renewable energy.
When the experimental aircraft touches down in Abu Dhabi in the early
hours of Tuesday it will cap a remarkable 42,000-km journey across four
continents, two oceans and three seas.
With Swiss explorer and project director Bertrand Piccard in the
cockpit, the plane is due to land at Al-Bateen Executive Airport in the
UAE capital where it launched its tour on March 9, 2015.
By 1300 GMT on Monday, Solar Impulse 2 had travelled more than 2,200 km
in nearly 38 hours on its final leg, flying over Qatar’s northern tip
after crossing the vast Saudi desert.
“Thanks to our lovely #sun, #Si2’s batteries are fully charged,” the Solar Impulse team said on Twitter.
“After a turbulent night from extreme high temperatures, the sun rose
above a desert of sand dunes above #SaudiArabia,” Mr. Piccard tweeted
earlier.
Dubbed the “paper plane,” the Solar Impulse 2 is circumnavigating the
globe in stages, with 58-year-old Piccard and his compatriot Andre
Borschberg taking turns at the controls of the single-seat aircraft.
Final leg
It took off from Cairo on its final leg early on Sunday, having previously crossed Asia, North America, Europe and North Africa.
It took off from Cairo on its final leg early on Sunday, having previously crossed Asia, North America, Europe and North Africa.
Mr. Borschberg, 63, smashed the record for the longest uninterrupted
journey in aviation history with the 8,924-km flight between Nagoya,
Japan and Hawaii that lasted nearly 118 hours.
“#Si2 is both the 1st airplane of unlimited endurance & the only
experimental aircraft allowed to fly over cities!” he tweeted on Monday.
No heavier than a car but with the wingspan of a Boeing 747, the
four-engine battery-powered aircraft relies on around 17,000 solar cells
embedded in its wings.
Its broad wings and light weight make it particularly sensitive to turbulence.
The plane has clocked an average speed of 80 km per hour. 
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