DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Just after dawn on Monday, Swiss pioneers will embark on the first round-the-world trip ever attempted with a solar-powered plane.
Solar Impulse founders and pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg said in a statement Sunday that they hope to encourage the replacement of “old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies.” The flight will begin and end in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
Solar Impulse was behind the first aircraft able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled solely by the sun’s energy.
The Si2 aircraft that will be used in this journey is a single-seater made of carbon fiber. It has 17,248 solar cells that supply the plane with renewable energy.
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Follow Solar Impulse’s journey at: www.solarimpulse.com
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