NANJING // It’s been a rough two weeks since the arrival of Si2 in Nanjing. Much is happening day and night, and most of the team are craving more sleep.
Bertrand Piccard took the flight from Chongqing to Nanjing, which took 17 hours. The other pilot, Andre Borschberg, had been scheduled to fly.
Upon Bertrand’s arrival, we really saw the joy on his face and the team, as the plane had been grounded in Chongqing for three weeks, rather than the expected pit-stop of six to eight hours, due to poor weather conditions.
It was one of the most difficult flights, the time frame was tight – he had to land before a certain hour as the plane is sensitive to cross winds – and to conserve energy the plane uses. It’s really a tough task as Si2 is an experimental plane, and only a handful of people can fly it.
Andre was back in Switzerland at the time, taking medical tests for a virus. It was a sad moment for us with Andre back in Switzerland, everyone was wishing him a safe return and was praying for his recovery and continued good health.
At his homecoming, we threw him a surprise party with music and the whole team dancing and singing. He was flabbergasted and ecstatic. He thanked everyone and said, “Let’s go back to work!”
We had to cut down 10 days of events and compress them into six, which meant back-to-back events for the partners, school children and interviews with Chinese and international media.
It was a stressful week, not only for us but for the pilots as well. Everyone was working hand-in-hand to ensure the smooth delivery of the Solar Impulse message. The pilots had to be present at all events held at the Solar Impulse tent, and conduct interviews in between.
Right now, we have a team of engineers who are working on the aircraft to make sure of its security and maintain it to withstand five days and five nights of consecutive flying. Thus far, the plane has not made a complete 24-hour flight. This is really the moment of truth for the pilots and the team who have been in this project for over a decade.
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newsdesk@thenational.ae
Hasan Al Redaini, 25, works for group communications at Mubadala. He is travelling with the Solar Impulse team to assist in solar-energy lectures and demonstrations in each of the 12 countries the team is visiting.