Solar Impulse2 flies over the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain, after taking off for Cairo.
Madrid - The journey will pass through Algerian, Tunisian, Italian, Maltese and Greek airspace.
Published: Tue 12 Jul 2016, 12:00 AM
Updated: Tue 12 Jul 2016, 5:45 PM
Solar Impulse 2, an experimental solar-powered airplane, left Spain for Egypt in the penultimate leg of its globe-circling voyage. The flight, which first took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015 for a round-the-globe journey, flew out of Seville airport on Monday and was headed for Cairo.
Solar Impulse 2 is expected to land in Cairo on Wednesday.The flight, piloted by Swiss national Andre Borschberg, is expected to last 50 hours and 30 minutes, and will take it over the Mediterranean Sea. The journey will pass through Algerian, Tunisian, Italian, Maltese and Greek airspace.
The plane, which is no heavier than a car but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, will then set out for Abu Dhabi on the final leg of its voyage. Applause broke out on June 23 when the aircraft touched down in Seville after its pilot, Bertrand Piccard, made the first solo transatlantic crossing of a plane with only solar power.
The exhilarated 58-year-old told news agencies at the time that he had thought a lot about aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic, during the 6,765-kilometre flight.
"I met him when I was 11, we were both at the Apollo 12 take-off, and for me Lindbergh is one of these heroes who did what no one thought was possible," Piccard said by phone.
Borschberg piloted a 8,924-kilometre flight between Japan and Hawaii that lasted 118 hours, smashing the previous record for the longest uninterrupted journey in aviation history.
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