Solar Impulse 2 has taken off from Dayton, Ohio, bound for Pennsylvania, after being grounded for 24 hours because of a hangar malfunction.
The solar-powered plane was expected to take off on Tuesday on the next leg of its round-the-world adventure, but was delayed as the inflatable hangar used to store it began deflating and came into contact with it.
“We couldn’t give a green light for a flight before making sure there had not been any damages inside the structure,” said Andre Borschberg, co-pilot of the project.
On Tuesday night, the engineering team on the ground in Dayton, together with colleagues in Switzerland, said the plane could take off at 4am local time (12pm UAE).
Despite predictions of good weather, however, the 13th leg of the circumnavigation was by no means a smooth flight.
A few hours into the flight, Bertrand Piccard was forced to fly in a circular pattern above Columbus, Ohio, to avoid an onset of clouds blocking the plane’s only source of energy.
"When you see take-offs, landings, safe flights from Solar Impulse 2, you might have the impression it's easy. The unexpected is always part of an adventure as challenging as this one," said Piccard, who was piloting the flight.
Piccard, having played a key part in the decision to delay the flight, said that such delays and challenges were part and parcel of what the mission was about.
“The only way to never fail is to never try. There was always problems, always frustration, but there is always something when you are trying something difficult,” he said en route to Pennsylvania. “When you are living a dream it is important to keep going. That’s what I always tell the team and that is why this very important flight is dedicated to the team.”
Dayton was the home of aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, who, in 1903, invented the first powered aircraft.
After completing the 17-hour flight to Pennsylvania, Solar Impulse 2 will then fly to its final US stop in New York, before attempting to cross the Atlantic, which could take up to a week.
The Masdar-sponsored project began in Abu Dhabi in March 2015 and is expected to end in the capital. Solar Impulse 2 aims to be the first plane to fly around the world using only the power of the Sun.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
