Solar Impulse 2 across Mediterranean

After crossing America and recently the Atlantic Ocean without a single drop of fuel, Solar Impulse 2 took off from Spain early Monday morning to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

The flight, that is expected to last two days and two nights depending on weather conditions, is the second to last leg of the attempt to achieve the first ever Round-The-World Solar Flight, the goal of which is to demonstrate how modern clean technologies can achieve the impossible.

Two-and-a half weeks after Bertrand Piccard’s historic crossing of the Atlantic Ocean coming from New York, André Borschberg took off at the controls of Si2 from the Seville Airport, Spain, today at 6.20 am local time and is expected to land at the Cairo International Airport, Egypt, on July 13 at 9am local time after a flight of approximately 3,600 km.

The journey across the Mediterranean Sea, from west to east, will see Si2 fly in the airspaces of Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Greece and finally Egypt. This is the largest number of airspaces ever overflown in one go with Si2.

“This flight across Europe will touch a large number of countries, very diverse in terms of culture, climate and geography. But in addition to all being on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, they have a common denominator: the potential benefit of using renewable energies and clean technology,” said André Borschberg, Co-founder and CEO currently at the controls of the solar airplane.

 “After 36,000 km, people might start to find it obvious to fly day and night without fuel, but it’s still a very difficult endeavour and the challenge will remain open until the last minute,” added Bertrand Piccard, Initiator, Chairman and pilot. After landing in Cairo, Si2 will be ideally positioned to attempt the last leg of adventure and reach Abu Dhabi where the adventure started in March 2015.

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