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Reuters/Ruben Sprich
Planes
The second generation of the Swiss-engineered solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse 2, has taken off from Abu Dhabi heading east to Oman – its first checkpoint on a daring five month-long journey across the entire planet.
The aircraft, piloted by Swiss national Andre Borschberg, successfully lifted off from the capital of United Arab Emirates on Monday morning.
READ MORE: The Sun’s the limit: Solar plane passes third test before round-the-world trip
The record breaking 35,000km journey has been split to 12 stretches with a total flight time of some 500-hours. The single-cabin solar plane will be piloted by Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard interchangeably.
The aircraft utilizes a 236-foot wingspan covered in 17,248 solar cells to power four electric motors. Flying at around 50 to 100 km per hour, the pilots plan to make a total of 15 landings every five days of continuous flight.
A crew of 65 air traffic controllers and weathermen will support the flight from Monaco. The plane is scheduled to return to Abu Dhabi in July.
Solar Impulse 2 plane takes off for daring round-the-world trip — RT News
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