Saturday Departure Planned For Final Leg Of Its ‘Across America’ Journey

The solar-powered airplane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will fly to New York for the fifth and last leg of its "Across America" flights on Saturday, July 6. It is the culmination of an epic which began on May 3rd in San Francisco. Piccard and Borschberg have taken turns in the single seat cockpit with stopovers in Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

With André Borschberg at the controls, Solar Impulse will take-off from Washington Dulles International Airport at around 0500 EDT with an estimated landing time in New York John F. Kennedy International Airport at 0200 EDT on Sunday, July 7. This final leg marks the historic achievement of the Coast-to-Coast "Across America" flights, which started May 3rd in San Francisco, with an airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, powered exclusively by solar energy.

Solar Impulse said in a news release that the ambitious journey pushes energy efficiency to an unprecedented level and serves to inspire people and governments worldwide to make a broader use of clean technologies. During its visit to Solar Impulse at Washington Dulles International Airport on June 17, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz welcomed these accomplishments and emphasized how Solar Impulse aligns with the four Department of Energy priorities which are solar, energy storage, energy efficiency, and advanced materials.

During its stay in New York, Solar Impulse will have a dense program of events including a news conference on Monday, July 8 at noon at JFK, participation in the NASDAQ Opening Bell Ceremony and a meeting at the UN with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday, July 9.

In Washington D.C. Solar Impulse has presented Clean Generation, its latest initiative for the global adoption of clean technologies to key decision makers at the White House and Capitol Hill. Before that, it has handed over the flag of Clean Generation carried on board the solar plane to the Governors of Arizona, Texas and Missouri. New York City is now the ideal place to reach out to an even greater number of people and spread the Solar Impulse message about the importance of adopting clean technologies. Clean Generation is a global movement supported by thousands of people and more names are added at every stopover onto a USB stick and symbolically carried in the cockpit of the airplane as virtual passengers.

Although the flight has been confirmed, the flight director may still decide to postpone it or alter the route shortly before take-off.

(Image provided by Solar Impulse)

FMI: www.solarimpulse.com