Solar Impulse 2

Solar Impulse 2 has completed the Pacific Ocean crossing leg of its round-the-world flight, landing at Moffett Airfield in California.

After a several month long layover in Hawaii, Solar Impulse 2 is back in the air and on the way to California for the latest leg in its around-the-world journey.

​It was last March that Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg began a round-the-world trip in their solar-powered aircraft, the Solar Impulse 2. Unfortunately, during a stopover in Hawaii, they discovered that the batteries had overheated. Now, however, they're finally set to resume their journey.​

Following a seventh-month grounding in Hawaii, the Solar Impulse 2 is back in action en route to its historic round-the-world sun-powered journey. The team has carried out a maintenance flight to test out newly installed systems ahead of its next oversea jaunt in two months time.

Solar Impulse 2 has been forced to postpone completion of its round-the-world solar flight as its batteries suffered irreversible damage on the first day of its Japan-to-Hawaii flight. The aircraft, which safely reached its destination, will be forced to winter in Hawaii as it undergoes repairs.

The solar-powered, single-pilot aircraft began circling the globe in Abu Dhabi back in March, and is now in Hawaii after breaking records over the Pacific, which is where it looks like it will stay for a few weeks.

Solar Impulse 2 has landed in Hawaii after completing its record-breaking longest leg of the Round the World Solar Flight. With pilot André Borschberg at the controls, the solar-powered, single-pilot aircraft touched down today at Kalaeloa Airport at 5:55 HAST (15:55 GMT).

While only three quarters of the way to its next touch down in Hawaii, Solar Impulse has already broken the world records for longest distance and duration for solar aviation, and the longest ever solo flight.

Solar Impulse 2 has resumed the longest leg of its round-the-world flight. After being grounded for almost four weeks, the single-pilot craft rolled out discretely from Nagoya, Japan today in the hope of taking advantage of improved weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean.

The Solar Impulse team reports that the aircraft is making an unscheduled stopover in Nagoya, Japan. The plan was to cross a weather front just before Hawaii on solar day 5, but the latest forecasts looked grim so the decision was made to land and wait for better weather conditions.

With Swiss pilot André Borschberg at the controls, the solar-powered, single-pilot Solar Impulse 2 airplane took off from Nanjing Lukou Airport in China today bound for Hawaii on the longest leg of its round-the-world flight.

The Solar Impulse 2 solar-powered airplane has already broken a world record. By traveling from Muscat, Oman to Ahmedabad, India, it broke the Solar Impulse team's previous record for longest solar-powered straight distance flight between predeclared waypoints.