MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The third phase of the itinerary should have begun March 15, but was postponed due to weather conditions.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is part of the Solar Impulse project, led by Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist and balloonist, and Andre Borschberg, a businessman. Its predecessor is Solar Impulse 1, used by Borschberg to complete the world's first ever manned 26-hour solar-powered flight on July 8, 2010.
Barring emergencies, the plane will make only 12 stops. After India it will fly to Myanmar, China, the United States, Europe, and North Africa and will finish the trip in Abu Dhabi. The entire journey is planned to take five months.
Designed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the Solar Impulse 2 was unveiled April 2014. Affixed to wings wider than a Boeing 747 are 17,000 solar panels which collect the energy to power the engines that propel the aircraft up to its top speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour. The entire ultralight plane weighs as much as a normal car, according to the Guardian.
Piccard and Borschberg will take turns piloting the plane during their round-the-world journey.
