The flight covered a distance of 6,765 kilometres, making it the “first ever electric, solar and emission-free transatlantic flight,” according to a Solar Impulse statement. It took pilot Bertrand Piccard 71 hours to cross the Atlantic Ocean, flying at an average speed of 95.10 kilometres per hour at a maximum altitude of 8,534 metres.
The Solar Impulse team said that the flight broke several world records, including distance and altitude in an electric airplane as well as distance in the solar airplane category.
“The Atlantic has always revealed the transitions between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ worlds,” said Piccard. The ‘old world’ is one of inefficient polluting devices, while the ‘new world’ is characterised by modern clean technologies. “With this transatlantic flight our aim is to inspire the adoption of clean technologies everywhere,” he said.
Co-founder of the project André Borschberg was in the cockpit of the solar-powered airplane as it crossed the Pacific Ocean. That flight, which took five days and nights flight, proved that it is theoretically possible to fly perpetually.
Solar Impulse called the now-completed transatlantic flight a first in the history of renewable energy. “Solar Impulse is a demonstration of energy efficiency and smart energy management, similar to a flying smart grid,” emphasised Borschberg.
Piccard initiated the Solar Impulse project to with the vision of having an airplane that can fly night and day without using any fuel. Piccard and Cleantech21 co-founder and CEO Nick Beglinger are both honorary presidents of the business association swisscleantech.