Solar Impulse completes Atlantic crossing with landing in Seville

Solar Impulse 2, the special plane powered by solar energy,  has just landed in Seville – Spain -  markeing the end of the 15th stage of its  route.

The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 plane left the USA for Europe on Monday 20th on one of the most challenging flights of its more than year-long trek around the world without using any jet fuel or emitting pollution.

Solar Impulse 2 is the Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project.

Prysmian Group is a Specialized Partner, having supplied 150 km of special aerospace cables that distribute power around the aircraft.
The world tour started in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and was scheduled to return to Abu Dhabi in August 2015 after a multi-stage journey. By June 2015, the plane had traversed Asia, and in July 2015, it completed the longest leg of its journey, from Japan to Hawaii. During that leg, however, the aircraft's batteries experienced thermal damage that took several months to repair.

Solar Impulse 2 resumed the circumnavigation on 21 April 2016. Now the goal of circumnavigating the globe using only clean energy is getting closer.

The wingspan of Solar Impulse 2 is 71.9 m, slightly less than that of an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, but unlike the 500-tonne A380, the carbon-fibre Solar Impulse weighs only 2.3 tonnes, little more than an average automobile. It features a non-pressurized 3.8 m3 cockpit and advanced avionics, including an autopilot to allow multi-day transcontinental and trans-oceanic flights. Supplemental oxygen and various other environmental support systems allow the plane to fly up to an altitude of 12,000 metres.
Solar Impulse has moved rapidly around the Earth since renewing its challenge in Hawaii on 21 April.