Solar Impulse starts flight from Abu Dhabi
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E-mail China Daily, March 10, 2015
The first solar powered plane attempting to make a round the world trip, left Abu Dhabi at 7:12am local time on Monday, embarking on the first leg of its flight to Muscat, Oman.
![The first solar powered plane attempting to make a round the world trip, left Abu Dhabi at 7:12am local time on Monday, embarking on the first leg of its flight to Muscat, Oman. [Photo/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20150310/001aa0ba3c1616688ea501.jpg "The first solar powered plane attempting to make a round the world trip, left Abu Dhabi at 7:12am local time on Monday, embarking on the first leg of its flight to Muscat, Oman. [Photo/Xinhua]") |
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The first solar powered plane attempting to make a round the world trip, left Abu Dhabi at 7:12am local time on Monday, embarking on the first leg of its flight to Muscat, Oman. [Photo/Xinhua] |
The long-awaited moment came after years of preparation by the Solar Impulse team, its sponsors and partners, who are turning a dream into reality with the goal of promoting an increased use of clean and renewable energy.
Andre Borschberg was at the controls of the single-seater aircraft as it left and will share duties with co-pilot Bertrand Piccard.
Take off came after a 40 minute delay while the team checked an electrical device.
At Mission Control Center (MCC) in Monaco, where flight information is collected and monitored, the atmosphere was anxious as the team awaited take off.
Around 20 engineers and specialists are taking care of meteorological data monitoring, air traffic control, mission control and flight strategy control. Another team of around 20 media specialists work at the MCC to take care of communications work.
Take off occurred in a matter of seconds and workers at Mission Control Center (MCC) in Monaco watched the live broadcast, clapping their hands as the plane took off.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco, attended as a special guest to express his support. He wore the MCC uniform and sat among the engineers during take off.
Prince Albert said it was an honor to host the MCC in Monaco because it was great to have the principality's name associated with the project as it supports renewable energy.
"I'm sure this will be an incredible message for renewable and solar energy," he said.
Solar Impulse will make a round the world tour, returning to Abu Dhabi in late June or July. It is expected to set a new record for flying 40,000 kilometers on solar power alone.
Because of its huge reliance on good weather, take off was delayed from March 1 until Monday.
Luc Trullemans, a meteorologist working at the MCC, explained that the delay was due to the presence of dust in the atmosphere and wind in the desert of Abu Dhabi, which led to sand falling slowly to the ground, affecting visibility.
The MCC's media team has been keen to spread the message about Solar Impulse around the world, raising awareness of clean energy.
"It is not about the airplane flying around the world, it is really about how many voices we can raise for an amazing cause," said Bruno Boehm, digital marketing manager at MCC.
Boehm said the dream behind the project belongs to many people contributing to the same cause, including Solar Impulse's sponsors. His team will take the views of all contributors to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year.
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