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Solar-powered flight into record books

Japan-to-Hawaii voyage was the longest nonstop solo effort.

The Solar Impulse 2 approaches the airport. The plane's wings were equipped with 17,000 solar cells that charged batteries. Stored energy was used at night.
The Solar Impulse 2 approaches the airport. The plane's wings were equipped with 17,000 solar cells that charged batteries. Stored energy was used at night.Read moreSolar Impulse 2 via AP
    by Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press, Inquirer
    Published 

KAPOLEI, Hawaii - A plane powered by the sun's rays landed in Hawaii on Friday after a record five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.

Pilot Andre Borschberg and his single-seat aircraft landed at Kalaeloa, a small airport outside Honolulu. His nearly 118-hour voyage from Nagoya broke the record for the world's longest nonstop solo flight, his team said. The late U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett set the previous record of 76 hours when he flew a specially designed jet around the globe in 2006.

But Borschberg flew the Solar Impulse 2 without fuel. Instead, its wings were equipped with 17,000 solar cells that charged batteries. The plane ran on stored energy at night.

The engineless aircraft landed in silence, the only sound the hum of a nearby helicopter. About 200 people, including some from news outlets, witnessed the touch-down shortly before 6 a.m.

Later in the morning, Borschberg called the flight an extraordinary experience, saying it marked historical firsts for aviation and for renewable energy.

"Nobody now can say that renewable energies cannot do the impossible," he said. Asked what was the most challenging part of the journey, he said it was when he and fellow Swiss Bertrand Piccard, his copilot, had to decide when to leave Japan, which he called a tough decision.

Borschberg, who did yoga up to 45 minutes daily to counter the effects of immobility and stay fit, remained in the plane for about an hour before emerging. Before exiting, he was approached by customs personnel who asked to see his passport. Some in the waiting crowd waved Swiss flags, and dignitaries shook his hand. Piccard also greeted him and six girls sang a welcoming song in Hawaiian.

Ground crews pushed the plane toward a hangar, where a celebratory attitude waited along with leis and hula dancers.

Borschberg and Piccard have been taking turns flying the plane on an around-the-world trip since taking off from Abu Dhabi in March. After Hawaii, the plane will head to Phoenix and then New York.