After a month on the ground, the Solar Impulse airplane retry his crossing of … – TF1

Back in the air after nearly a month pinned on earth. Solar Impulse 2 took off in the night from Sunday to Monday from Japan where he patiently since June 2, taking advantage of a favorable weather window to try to reach Hawaii. The plane, piloted by André Borschberg, flew for a journey of five days and nights of Nagoya (center) around 3:04 local (8:04 p.m. Sunday, French time), said a spokesman for the mission Elke Neumann.

Solar Impulse 2 had to abort its flight between Nanjing (Eastern China) and Hawaii because of bad weather and had landed in Japan earlier this month. He had long hoped to leave several times, but the rainy season and a thick brow in the cloudy prevented until Sunday. The initial decision was to be taken very complex, given the many technical parameters.

“A moment of truth for the project”

“It is extremely difficult to predict the weather on a five-day horizon,” stressed repeatedly the team, taking his misfortune patiently. However, the aircraft piloted alternately by André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, had only a limited period, until August 5, in order to embark on the voyage of a milking 7,900 kilometers between Nagoya Hawaii, because of the conditions in which the unit is to fly. Fragile, it supports neither too hot weather nor rain nor disturbance.

The biggest challenge was to find a “corridor” to cross a dense rain front that will roughly Taiwan to Alaska. “The only way to achieve this with our plane to locate a place where the front is much thinner,” explained André Borschberg last week. “This is the moment of truth for the project. This is the moment of truth for our team”, had also said the driver. “This plane is like a jewel. It really flies well. He behaves very well. We do not want to lose it with a stupid decision. We need a good script in five or six days and nights. We knew it would be difficult, “he confided.

” A feat never achieved “

“André will venture into the unknown this flight will be demanding and challenging especially in light of its duration, nearly 120 hours with only solar That is an achievement. never achieved before in the world of aviation “, said the organizers pending the takeoff.

The pilot carefully prepared for this test of endurance, as his alter ego Bertrand Piccard, each having developed his method. “The goal is to feel comfortable to be able to accept mentally, and even love, to be in the cockpit during a long period”, said André Borschberg. “We sleep for periods of 20 minutes, and as this is not enough, I use techniques of yoga and meditation, self-hypnosis and my partner, to relax,” he recounted, seemingly enjoying his life alone in his cramped cabin.

The flight departed on March 9 Abu Dhabi to a world tour of 35,000 kilometers to promote the use of renewable energy, particularly solar energy .

& gt; & gt; Video: Solar Impulse 2: Return on unscheduled stop in Japan

& gt ; & gt; Video: Solar Impulse landed in Japan because of the weather