SolarImpulse - Around the World patch.
April 21, 2015
SolarImpulse 2 landing at Nanjing
Bertrand Piccard landed Tuesday evening (local time) in Nanjing, China, completing the 6th stage of the solar airplane. He landed after more than 17 hours since Chongqing.
Solar Impulse with Bertrand Piccard to commands landed Tuesday at 23:20 local time (5:20 p.m. in Switzerland) on the tarmac at Nanjing airport, China. Party at 6 Chongqing, downstream on the Yangtze River, the aircraft traveled 1190 km in 17 hours and twenty minutes.
SolarImpulse 2 takeoff from Chongqing
At local 20:50, the solar aircraft appeared in the sky above Nanjing Airport and then drove around for almost half past two, pending its niche of "landing.
"Hello Nanjing," shouted Bertrand Piccard in Chinese descent of the aircraft. Visibly shaped, the pilot thanked the Chinese authorities for their cooperation. He also dedicated the flight to his colleague André Borschberg, which was initially fly the aircraft during this step.
Bertrand make Solar Impulse 2 selfie in flight
André Borschberg returned Switzerland to treat shingles and will join the "Team in Nanjing over the weekend, said the Solar Impulse communication service.
Three weeks on site
"The flight was beautiful," said Bertrand Piccard after its descent Yangtze plane. It was the last flight of the first part of the world tour, before crossing the Pacific. Flight postponed several times because of the vagaries of the weather, because of unfavorable winds and precipitation.
In the end, Solar Impulse will stay in Chongqing three weeks, while the stage was initially only last a few hours, time to change drivers.
Related lost time
"For 13 years we have been working on this project, so three more weeks, ultimately, it's little," relativized Bertrand Piccard. Before the Chinese media, he stressed the message of Solar Impulse, its commitment to renewable energy and green technology as a growth vector.
And recalled the mission of the project is to popularize these technologies to the population, in order to advance certain ideas to governments.
Bertrand Piccard prompted journalists to visit the website of Solar Impulse, a site blocked by Chinese censors. The project team has had to build a special website for the Chinese audience, Chinese, and hosted in China.
Bertrand Piccard selfie in flight
Ten days in Nanjing
The solar plane should stay ten days in Nanjing, the time for a complete check-up before facing the Pacific. The next step, the longest, will last for five consecutive days of flight to a single driver loaded to rally the American archipelago of Hawaii.
Solar Impulse 2 left on March 9 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He made stops in Oman, India, Burma and China.
For more information about SolarImpulse 2 Around the World, visit: http://www.solarimpulse.com/
Images, Text, Credits: SolarImpulse/ATS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace.
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