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The world’s first solar-powered aircraft capable of flying overnight begins its cross-country journey Friday, taking off from Moffett Field shortly after dawn.

The Solar Impulse, built by Swiss inventors and entrepreneurs Bertrand Piccard André Borschberg was scheduled to take off at 6 a.m., May 3, from the Mountain View airfield. Piccard will pilot the plane to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where it is anticipated he will land at 1 a.m. local time on May 4. Updates from the flight are being posted on Solar Impulse’s website.

During the ground-breaking flight the Solar Impulse should ascend to a height of 16,000 feet, and pass over the Mojave Desert, according to a press release.

The Impulse, has the wingspan of a jumbo jet, but weighs only as much as a small car, with approximately a quarter of its weight coming from its massive store of batteries, which allow the solar plane to fly whether or not the sun is shining.

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20 Comments

  2. GOOD LUCK hope all goes OK!! It really is History in the making. Once again Mountain View is ground zero for the cutting edge of technology.

  4. You mean, began, not begins. Please give us news when we can actually do something about it….like go see what you’re talking about. We’ve had comets the day after, this the day after, and lots of meetings the day after. How about the day before?
    Thanks

  5. I agree with Deniece. I read MV Online everyday and if it had been in yesterday’s edition, I would have been out there this morning to see it take off. As it was, I heard about it on the radio, hours after they had departed.

  6. Bon Voyage! Sorry I missed the departure, best of luck to the Solar Impulse team – they’re making this very difficult feat look easy. Open cockpit, 20,000 feet and -20 degrees in a fragile aircraft.

  7. The Voice is great at telling you what is happening a day after. Uploaded: Thursday, May 2, 4:06 PM but the Flight is May 3 @ 6 AM
    However there was limited viewing space and the field was not open to the public.

  9. Hi Deniece,

    The story was posted yesterday (Thursday, May 2). Sorry you didn’t see it til today.

    Thanks for reading,
    Nick

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