CHONGQING, CHINA // Bad weather has once again delayed the round-the-world flight of the solar-powered Solar Impulse 2.
Wet and cloudy conditions were keeping the plane grounded in China, where it awaits to complete the sixth leg of its journey – from Chongqing to Nanjing.
“Weather conditions aren’t allowing for a flight,” said Hasan Alredaini, an Emirati member of the Solar Impulse team.
With a readjusted schedule, the plane is now set to depart for Nanjing no earlier than Saturday, a 1,190-kilometre trip that requires about 20 hours of flight time.
Earlier this month, the plane flew over the Himalayas from Mandalay in Myanmar to Chongqing after more than a week of delays, again due to bad weather.
While in China, pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg met with children as well as Chinese developers, architects, and urban designers, and learnt about the country’s investment in renewable and clean energy.
From Nanjing, plans are in place to have Solar Impulse 2 embark on its seventh flight, across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. The 8,172km flight will see the plane’s pilot spending an estimated 120 hours in the air.
The Nanjing-Hawaii leg has been described as a feat of endurance for the pilot and the plane’s support crew, which will be constantly monitoring its progress during the five-day journey.
Solar Impulse 2 began its journey in Abu Dhabi last month and is expected to finish it in the UAE capital in July.
esamoglou@thenational.ae