The Solar Impulse 2 team have been revitalised by their record flight from Japan to Hawaii – now it’s time to bring new life to their fuel-free aircraft.
The team, especially pilot Andre Borschberg, are taking time to recuperate after the 118-hour journey across the Pacific on the epic eighth leg of their flight around the globe.
But the flight was not without its rigours for the plane, either. It is now having repairs to the wear and tear it sustained on its last leg before it can take off for the next, to Phoenix in the US.
Mr Borschberg, who spent five days jammed in the cockpit and sleeping only 20 minutes at a time, was given a hero’s welcome after leaving the craft on Friday.
“I feel exhilarated by this extraordinary journey,” he said. “I’ve climbed the equivalent altitude of Mount Everest five times without much rest. The team at the mission control centre was my eyes and ears.”
A member of the team said Mr Borschberg would need time to recover, and for blood circulation to return to the legs he had not properly moved for days – in much the same as astronauts need time to readjust to Earth’s gravity.
For the team, the flight was a sign that the Solar Impulse is capable of achieving its purpose.
“When you imagine where he came from, 8,000 kilometres, five days five nights in the air, it’s just amazing,” said Bertrand Piccard, co-pilot and chairman of the project. “I don’t think we can realise really what it means to fly so long with no fuel.”
Mr Piccard, who will be flying the next leg, said that the leg to Hawaii had given him and the team confidence in their ultimate goal.
“I never had any doubt that Andre could do it,” he said. “We trained together – he gave me advice and I gave him advice – and I can only look forward to continue this flight.
“But the final goal is to fly around the world and we still have a lot to do.”
Mr Piccard’s next flight to Phoenix over the Pacific is expected to take more than four days.
“The spirit comes up again and the enthusiasm of the entire team is back to be able to make the complete flight around the world,” he said.
The leg to Hawaii gave team members a much-needed boost after the unexpected cancellation of the flight on June 1, when they were forced to land in Nagoya after hitting a stormfront.
They were grounded in the Japanese city for almost two months waiting for suitable weather.
Mr Piccard said the team was now back on track.
“For many of the people in the team, it’s maybe the first and only time in their lives where they can participate in something so historic that they have created themselves.”
A member of the team is Hasan Al Redaini, a UAE delegate and part of the media team on solar impulse, he said the teams spirits are high.
“Andre is well and he’s been energetic,” said Mr Al Redaini. “The team is happy that we have moved on to the next phase of the trip and spirits have been lifted since the landing.”
The team will now assess the weather patterns over the Pacific Ocean and West Coast of the US. No date for ninth leg of the journey has been set.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae