Solar Impulse Japan route to Hawaii – Le Figaro

INFOGRAPHIE- After being forced to abort its flight early June the plane solar energy took off again from Japan for a journey of five days and nights during which André Borschberg will only to commands.

2 Solar Impulse took off in the night from Sunday to Monday from Japan where he waited patiently for nearly a month, enjoying a favorable weather window to try to reach Hawaii.

The plane, piloted by André Borschberg, flew to a distance of 5 days and 5 nights Nagoya (center) around 3:04 local (6:00 p.m. GMT), told AFP a spokesman for the mission, Elke Neumann. “We now expect that it has reached the point of no return for issuing a press release to local 10 o’clock (0100 GMT),” she said.

There are a month Solar Impulse 2 had to abort its flight between Nanjing (Eastern China) and Hawaii because of bad weather and had landed in Japan in the night of 1 to 2 June He had hoped for from several times, but the rainy season and a thick brow nuagueux has prevented until Sunday. The decision of the start was very difficult to take, given the many technical parameters. “It is extremely difficult to predict the weather a period of 5 days,” repeatedly stressed 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 treats 7,900 km between Hawaii and Nagoya, because of the conditions in which the unit must fly. Fragile, it supports neither too hot weather nor rain nor disturbance. The biggest challenge was to find a “corridor” to cross a dense cloudy forehead ranging approximately from 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 told AFP. “This is the moment of truth for the project. This is the moment of truth for our team, “also told the driver.

” This plane is like a jewel. It really flies well. It 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

” Andre will venture into the unknown. This flight will be demanding and challenging especially in light of its duration, nearly 120 hours with the solar energy only. It is a feat never achieved before in the world of aviation “, said the organizers awaiting 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.

2 Solar Impulse, whose wings are covered with photovoltaic cells, had previously been blocked more than a month in China by bad weather.

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.