Second Leg Of Circumnavigation Attempt Takes 15 Hours

After Andre Borschberg flew Solar Impulse 2 from Abu Dhabi to Muscat Monday, Bertrand Piccard climbed back into the solar-powered airplane Tuesday for the second leg of the journey. Fifteen hours later, he had crossed the Arabian Sea and landed in Ahmedabad, India, after covering about 932 miles.

The BBC reports that the airplane departed Muscat at 0235 GMT, and touched down in India at 1755 GMT. SI2 arrived in Ahmedabad in darkness, with the its wings lit by LEDs powered by the stored solar energy on board the aircraft.

Solar Impulse 2 has another 10 legs to go to complete the circumnavigation using only solar power. Piccard and Borschberg will continue to share the flying duties. Planning is already underway for the third leg of the trip, which will be to Varanasi in northeast India, but the team has not yet set a date for that flight.

The most challenging legs of the journey will be the ocean crossings. The route takes Solar Impulse 2 over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. During those ocean crossings, the 17,000 solar cells will have to collect enough sunlight to power the aircraft's four engines as well as store enough electricity in batteries to keep them running during the darkness hours. Those legs could take several days of flying non-stop over water.

The team plans three stops in the U.S., first in Hawaii, then Phoenix, AZ and New York City.

(Image provided by Solar Impulse)

FMI: www.solarimpulse.com