Solar Impulse stop-over before historic Pacific crossing

Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), world's most advanced solar-powered airplane and the first to fly day and night without fuel, landed successfully in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, following a 20-day stay in Chongqing.

With Bertrand Piccard at the controls, the solar airplane concluded the sixth leg of the historic trip around the world on Tuesday evening at 11.28 pm local time China (3.28 pm GMT).

"My job as a pilot was relatively easy. The preparatory measures, however, proved challenging for our team of weather specialists and engineers from SI's Partner Altran at the Monaco Control Center. We simulated all possible trajectories and exhausted all different strategies to get Solar Impulse 2 in the air; from defining pit-stops at airports along the route, to different speeds, altitudes and holding patterns. We are amazed by the spirit of our team and the willingness of our partners to help us achieve our goal: The first Round-The-World flight without fuel," said Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman, Solar Impulse.

The last leg, scheduled for early May, will bring Solar Impulse one step closer to an aviation first – the next part of the circumnavigation that will require flying five consecutive days and nights in a solar-powered aircraft to cross the Pacific, a feat that has never been accomplished before.

Commenting on the arrival in Nanjing, André Borschberg, Co-founder, CEO and Pilot of Solar Impulse, said: "Nanjing represents a turning point in the entire mission; this is where everything comes together for us as pilots after initiating the project 12 years ago. This is the moment of truth where all technical and human challenges will have to be overcome. We now have less than a month to mentally and physically prepare for what will be Solar Impulse's longest flight to date: a five-day and five-night journey across the Pacific Ocean from Nanjing to Hawaii."

Given the low speed of the ultra-light aircraft, the round-the-world mission will demand over 500 flight hours or nearly three weeks in air, spread over five months, covering roughly 35,000 km journey.

Si2 is the largest aircraft ever built with such a low weight, equivalent to that of a small car.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean, Solar Impulse will stop in the US and then either North Africa or Southern Europe, before returning to Abu Dhabi to complete the first ever round-the-world solar flight.

The Round-The-World Solar Impulse mission at a glance so far:

*March 9, 2015: First leg Abu Dhabi (UAE) - Al Bateen Executive Airport / Muscat (Oman) - Muscat International Airport

*March 10, 2015: Second leg Muscat (Oman) - Muscat International Airport / Ahmedabad (India) - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

*March 18, 2015: Third leg Ahmedabad (India) - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport  / Varanasi (India) – Varanasi International Airport

*March 19, 2015: Fourth Leg Varanasi (India) – Varanasi International / Mandalay (Myanmar) - Mandalay International Airport

*March 29, 2015: Fifth Leg Mandalay (Myanmar) - Mandalay International Airport / Chongqing (China) - Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport

*April 21, 2015: Sixth Leg Chongqing (China) - Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport / Nanjing (China) - Nanjing Lukou International Airport

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