Click to enlarge — Setting forth from Muscat to Ahmedabad
The Solar Impulse 2 solar-powered airplane may have only just begun its attempt at a round-the-world flight, but it’s already broken a world record. By traveling from Muscat, Oman to Ahmedabad, India, it broke the Solar Impulse team’s previous record for longest solar-powered straight distance flight between predeclared waypoints.
The 1,468-km Muscat to Ahmedabad flight was the second leg of the planned 5-month journey, which began this Monday in Abu Dhabi. Pilot Bertrand Piccard took the aircraft to an altitude of 8,534 meters and maintained a ground speed of about 185 km/h, landing in Ahmedabad this Tuesday at 11:25pm. He was in the air for a total of 13 hours and 20 minutes.
This latest record-breaking flight also reportedly marks the first time that a solar-powered aircraft has flown in Asia…
The team plans to spend the next four days in Ahmedabad before heading for Varanasi, India.
Bravo! It’s like early days in flight all over again. Including the bit about breaking your own records.