SANTA CLARA COUNTY (BCN) – The first plane able to fly day and night on solar power only will take off early Monday morning from Moffett Field in unincorporated Santa Clara County to continue its journey to circumnavigate the globe, according to the two Swiss men who’ve been piloting the plane.
Bertrand Piccard flew Solar Impulse 2 from Hawaii to Moffett Field last month and Andre Borschberg will take it on to Phoenix Goodyear Airport near Phoenix, Arizona, starting at 5 a.m. Monday, depending on the weather.
Solar Impulse 2 seats only one person. The plane flies by collecting energy from the sun in more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings. The solar cells send energy to four lithium batteries, which power four
motors, which turn four propellers.
The trip to the Phoenix area is the start of pilots’ plan to cross the United States and make the first-ever round-the-world trip in a solar plane.
Piccard and Borschberg are trying to show others how it’s possible to sustain the earth’s environment and that clean energy can be harnessed to provide fuel for the world’s needs.