Solar Impulse Plane Completes 13th Leg of Round-the-World Flight

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The flight lasted 17 hours.

​Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard are the founders of the Solar Impulse project and both are taking turns piloting the single-seater SI-2 during the round-the-world flight, which started in March with the plane’s departure from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

​The sun-powered plane suspended its flight in July 2015 because of battery damage.

After resuming its flight and embarking on the ninth leg from Hawaii to California on April 21, SI-2 is expected to return to Abu Dhabi after reaching New York.

SI-2 can reach a maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour. Its wingspan is 72 meters (236 feet) and the weight is only 2,300 kilograms, or 5,070 pounds, equivalent to that of a car. The plane is powered by sun energy collected by over 17,200 solar cells covering its wings, fuselage and tailplane.

The aircraft's prototype is Solar Impulse 1, which was used by Borschberg to conduct the world's first ever manned 26-hour solar-powered flight in July, 2010.