What is Solar Impulse? It’s already quite well known, but here’s how it’s described on the Solar Impulse website: “The gigantic, but ultra-lightweight dimensions of this revolutionary airplane – capable of flying day and night without fuel – are its trademark feature.” It’s a long-range solar powered plane whose challenge is to fly around the world.

What Bertrand Piccard, described as a psychiatrist and aeronaut, and André Borschberg, an engineer and pilot, are doing is truly remarkable. Their aim is to “prove that progress is possible using clean forms of energy.” But it’s also more than that. In their words, “the ultimate goal of Solar Impulse, beyond the adventure of flying a solar airplane round the world, or rather thanks to it, is to express a humanistic vision which devotes a major place to the pioneering spirit, to the questing mind and to innovation in our everyday lives.”

Keep an eye out on their progress. Bertrand Piccard flew Solar Impulse Tuesday 17 July from Madrid airport very early in the morning Central European Summer time, traveling over the Pyrenees, to land 16 hours and 13 minutes later, at 7:46 PM, at Toulouse airport. The next leg from Toulouse back to Switzerland has been postponed a few days due to changing winds, “creating mountain waves and heavy turbulences.”

Join Solar Impulse’s Supporters Program and “become ambassadors for a world that is not dependent on fossil energy!”

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Inspiring People

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