Flight Expected To Take About 16 Hours

Solar Impulse 2 departed Moffett Field in San Francisco at at 12:03 UTC (0803 EDT) en route to Phoenix, the next stop on its around-the-world attempt using only solar energy.

André Borschberg took off Monday morning after the airplane and crew spent a week in California following a 3-day flight that marked the completion of the Pacific Crossing. It was a great opportunity to meet with the public and Silicon Valley's tech companies, to spread the #futureisclean message.

The flight is expected to take 16 hours and 23 minutes, crossing 720 miles over the Mojave Desert and will arrive in Phoenix Goodyear Airport at around 4:23AM UTC.

On the flight from Hawaii to San Francisco, Si2 broke several world records, pending certification by FAI. They include distance, speed, duration and altitude in the electric airplane category and altitude (gain of height) in the solar airplane category.

The aircraft will continue across the U.S. to New York, then cross the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or North Africa, ending its journey in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where the adventure started in March 2015.

(Source: Solar Impulse. Image from Si2 video)

FMI: www.solarimpulse.com