Solar-powered plane breaks flight record crossing Pacific
A solar-powered plane has set a new record by completing a 56-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. The Solar Impulse 2 began its journey in March in Abu Dhabi and completed it on Saturday in California. Backers of the project included chemical group Solvay, lift maker Schindler, power grid company ABB and Swatch’s Omega brand. The plane is powered by 17,248 solar cells that turn the propellers and also charge the batteries that enable the plane to fly at night. Solar Impulse 2 has an ideal speed of 28mph that can be doubled in strong sun and weighs 2.3 tons. Last December, it was announced that since 2004 the budget consumed by the project was around €170m.

The Swiss-led team trying to fly a solar-powered plane around the world has raised €20m to continue its journey after being grounded in Hawaii by battery problems and the weather.

Solar Impulse 2 broke records in July but also damaged its power banks with a five-day and night crossing of the Pacific from Japan to Hawaii. Co-founder and pilot André Borschberg later announced it would take off again in early 2016.

Borschberg, attending the United Nations’ Paris climate summit with co-pilot Bertrand Piccard, said backers including chemical maker Solvay, Swiss lift maker Schindler, power grid maker ABB and Swatch’s Omega brand had made contributions allowing the plane to fly again.

Borschberg and Piccard had hoped to finish the 21,748 mile (35,000km) multi-leg circumnavigation in 2015, leaving from Abu Dhabi in March.

First, crosswinds in China caused weeks of delays. Then, after landing safely but with its batteries overheated from the Pacific crossing, the plane was forced to winter inside a hangar at Kalaeloa.

“The financial side is under control,” said Borschberg, a former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot and co-founder of Solar Impulse.

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg have announced Solar Impulse will continue its round-the-world flight attempt. Photograph: Antoine Decaux/Getty Images

“We are all very focused and looking forward to continuing next year,” said the 62-year-old, who flies solo, alternating between pit-stops with Piccard at the controls of the single-seat plane.

Solar Impulse’s budget since 2004 is now some €170m. The plane has 17,248 solar cells and a wider wingspan than a Boeing 747 while being the weight of a five-seater family car.

Borschberg said he planned to start test flights around March and, barring obstacles, the 2,500-mile leg from Hawaii to North America would start in April when daylight hours were sufficient to recharge the batteries.

West coast stops have been left open to accommodate potentially fickle weather. Vancouver, as well as San Francisco, Los Angeles or Phoenix were all candidates, Borschberg said.

They also reckon on a US midwest pit-stop followed by New York’s John F Kennedy Airport, before crossing to either Europe or North Africa and, finally, Abu Dhabi.

“We know we can do it but it remains a challenge,” Borschberg said.

He hoped a year’s delay will not undermine the message about using renewable energy technology to help stop climate change.

“That [solar] is what we used to make it feasible to fly day and night with the sun only,” he said. “That’s what we certainly could implement on a larger scale.”