HB-SIA landed back home in Switzerland at the weekend following a flight powered exclusively by solar energy. The flight marked the end of the European solar flights campaign that took Solar Impulse’ team to Brussels and to the Paris Air Show.
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype, piloted by Andre Borschberg, touched down on the evening of Sunday July 3rd in Payerne, Switzerland at 7:42 pm after a 12:31 hour flight from Paris’ Le Bourget airport, where it been on show. Solar Impulse had flown to Brussels on May 13, where it stopped for about a month before flying to Le Bourget on June 14.
Tired but happy, André Borschberg punched the air in victory and greeted the team and the public before finally setting foot back on solid ground. “This flight marks the completion of an amazing campaign. I still don’t quite yet appreciate the scale of our achievement, but judging by the size of the crowd her and the interest that we’ve generated, it looks like we’ve succeeded – it’s a real team victory”.
Click here to view a video of the event.
The team will attempt a round the world flight in five stages in 2014.
Source: Web Site