Originally published on 1Sun4All.
Monaco Control Center (MCC) has cleared Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) for take off on its 5th flight, flying from Mandalay (Mandalay International Airport, MDL/VYMD) in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, to Chongqing (Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, CKG/ZUCK) in the People’s Republic of China.
Solar Impulse announced that Bertrand Piccard will fly the zero-carbon airplane on about 1375 km (742 NM, 854 miles) for an estimated time of 20 hours.
Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, co-founders and pilots of Si2, said flying into China is an amazing opportunity to spread their message: the Future is Clean. Leading global provider of elevators, escalators, and related services, Schindler is pleased to accompany Si2 in China, presenting the latest clean and green technology to the public, as well as Chinese developers, architects, urban designers, and planners.
China is a very important step of the #RTW. Discussing the flight strategy with the #MCC in #Monacopic.twitter.com/z4RLq7dPaB
— André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) March 29, 2015
Weather conditions can make changes to the schedule for the Round-The-World (RTW) attempt flights, and at the time I write this, the duration of Si2’s stay in Chongqing is undetermined.
The 6th flight will take Si2 from Chongqing (Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, CKG/ZUCK) in the People’s Republic of China, to Nanjing (Nanjing Lukou International Airport, NKG/ZSNJ), also in the People’s Republic of China. André Borschberg will fly the solar-powered airplane about 1190 km (642 NM, 739 miles) for an estimated time of 20 hours.
In the video “D-1 Broadcast Flight From Myanmar to Chongqing,” (shown above) Bertrand Piccard says it will be André Borschberg who flies Si2 from Nanjing, China, to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, USA, the longest flight of the RTW attempt.
This may indicate that Bertrand Piccard will land in Phoenix, Arizona, to complete the 8th leg of the journey, and the first stop in the mainland of America.
We are about to leave for #China, where we will organize educational activities for millions of children pic.twitter.com/koQkNaTWFj — André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) March 29, 2015
Si2 was on the tarmac in Mandalay during the annual global event, Earth Hour 2015. You can see some nice photos about what the Si2 team was up to during the “Lights Out” hour on the Solar Impulse Twitter page (March 28).
Bertrand Piccard said on Twitter: “A #solarimpulse signature in the dark night of #Mandalay for #EarthHour 2015. #futureisclean.”
Video Credit: SOLAR IMPULSE | Photo Credits: Solar Impulse 2 RTW in Mandalay Earth Hour via Solar Impulse | Cartoon Credit: Martin Saive via Solar Impulse
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