Solar Impulse 2 prepares for Phoenix flight

The solar-powered plane is expected to take to the air once more at 4pm UAE time on Monday, piloted by Andre Borschberg.

The team behind Solar Impulse 2 is preparing for take-off on Monday for the next leg of its flight, from California to Arizona.

After a week on the ground at Moffett Federal Airfield, the solar-powered plane is expected to be in the air again by 4pm UAE time, piloted by the mission’s Swiss co-founder, Andre Borschberg.

“We have found a clear weather window that will bring us over the Mojave Desert to Phoenix Goodyear Airport,” a statement on Solar Impulse website said.

“This will take an estimated 16 hours, crossing over 720 miles.”

The flight from Mountain View to Phoenix will be the 10th leg of the flight.

The team hopes to eventually reach New York before crossing the Atlantic Ocean into Europe, and returning to Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March last year.

The aircraft landed in Hawaii last July, but was grounded for nine months after suffering critical heat-related damage to its batteries during the previous stage of its flight.

During that segment of the journey, a historic five-day, 7,200-kilometre journey from Nagoya, Japan was completed.

The team resumed the mission on April 21, when co-pilot and co-founder Bertrand Piccard took off for California after repairs and test flights were completed.