Must be all the cloud cover.
Enjoy the flight:
"On Monday, Swiss pioneers embark on the first round-the-world trip ever attempted with a solar-powered plane. Solar Impulse’s founders and pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, hope to encourage the replacement of ‘‘old polluting technologies.’’ The flight will begin and end in Abu Dhabi. The Si2 aircraft is made of carbon fiber; its 17,248 solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries. The 236-foot wingspan is larger than the Boeing 747’s. The duo plan stops in Oman, India, Myanmar, and China before heading across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii, and then to Phoenix and New York. The path across the Atlantic will depend on weather; there may be a stop in Southern Europe before the trip ends in July."
Ready for takeoff?
"Solar-powered plane lands in India on 2nd leg of world trip" AP March 11, 2015
AHMADABAD, India — A Swiss-made solar-powered aircraft landed in western India on Tuesday night, completing the second leg — and its first sea crossing — of its attempted round-the-world trip.
The Solar Impulse 2 touched down at Ahmadabad airport in Gujarat state about 16 hours after it took off from Muscat, Oman, for the 910-mile flight without a drop of fuel.
The world’s first aircraft powered by solar energy was to remain in Ahmadabad for two days before being flown to the holy city of Varanasi in northern India on Saturday.
The Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Boschberg, will take turns at the controls of the aircraft during the planned 21,700-mile journey.
The aircraft’s wings are covered by some 17,000 solar cells that recharge the plane’s batteries. On Monday, Borschberg, who cofounded the Solar Impulse company that built the plane, flew the Si2 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, to nearby Oman in the first leg of the journey.
The Swiss explorers say their aim is to highlight the importance of renewable energy and the spirit of innovation.
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In the end it's a sad story.
NDU: Solar storm pulls aurora display south
