The Solar Impulse team and its aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, are on-board a Boeing 747 cargo plane, which is set to arrive in Abu Dhabi from Payerne, Switzerland, this week.
The cargo plane was expected to take off early on Tuesday morning to bring the Solar Impulse aircraft to the UAE, where it will remain for two months in preparation for take-off later this year.
The Solar Impulse project involves circumnavigating the world beginning in March and leaving from Abu Dhabi.
The solar-powered aircraft has a wingspan of 72 metres.
The Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, will take turns flying. Certain cross-continental legs will push them to maintain focus for up to five days and nights.
In an interview with The National in December, Mr Borschberg said: "We want to make sure to do everything right.
“There’s a lot of preparation being done by the team. We are looking forward to being in Abu Dhabi, then we start to do our training and all the preparation and be part of the sustainability week.”
The plane expects to return to the capital after five months.
“I feel extremely cautious, extremely excited and extremely busy,” Mr Borschberg said. “It’s difficult to realise we’re so close and we’re so busy preparing everything.”
Solar Impulse is partnering with the Masdar Institute to complete the project.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
