00:40China: Solar Impulse 2 completes fifth leg of record-breaking flight
Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Monday, completing the fifth leg of the first ever round-the-world solar flight.
The carbon fiber airplane started its journey from Abu Dhabi on March 9. By the end of the five month expedition the Solar Impulse 2 will have stopped off in a number of places including Oman, India, Myanmar, China, the U.S.A. and Southern Europe or North Africa before returning to Abu Dhabi.
Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg take alternate turns in steering the aircraft, which has a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), over 35,000 km (21,700 miles). The Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 72 metre (236 foot), which is wider than a 747 jumbo jet, but weighs only 2.3 tonnes. It contains 17,000 solar cells on top of wings which load lithium-ion batteries used for night-time flying.
The around-the-world flight comes after the first Solar Impulse prototype flew across the United States and Europe, becoming the first airplane to fly through the night powered by solar energy. One of the aims of the Solar Impulse 2 record-breaking attempt is to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies.
00:40Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Monday, completing the fifth leg of the first ever round-the-world solar flight.
The carbon fiber airplane started its journey from Abu Dhabi on March 9. By the end of the five month expedition the Solar Impulse 2 will have stopped off in a number of places including Oman, India, Myanmar, China, the U.S.A. and Southern Europe or North Africa before returning to Abu Dhabi.
Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg take alternate turns in steering the aircraft, which has a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), over 35,000 km (21,700 miles). The Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 72 metre (236 foot), which is wider than a 747 jumbo jet, but weighs only 2.3 tonnes. It contains 17,000 solar cells on top of wings which load lithium-ion batteries used for night-time flying.
The around-the-world flight comes after the first Solar Impulse prototype flew across the United States and Europe, becoming the first airplane to fly through the night powered by solar energy. One of the aims of the Solar Impulse 2 record-breaking attempt is to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies.