HB-SIA successfully completed its first leg of its voyage to Kingdom of Morocco after a technical stop in Madrid on Thursday 24 of May.
André Borschberg took the commands of the HB-SIA with a take-off from Payerne airfield (Switzerland). The prototype then crossed the border into France via the Jura in the direction of Pontarlier ascending to an altitude of 3’600 meters. At the level of Rodez (France), the aircraft increased its ascent to 8’500 meters flying over the Massif Central proceeding to Toulouse before crossing over the Pyrenees into Spain and then landed in Madrid-Barajas airport.
A good weather forecast has been confirmed for the 2nd leg of the 2012 Crossing Frontiers Flight, for today June 5. For his first mission flight, Bertrand Piccard will take the commands of the Prototype with a take-off foreseen around 05:30AM from Madrid-Barajas airport (Spain). The entirely solar-powered aircraft will fly over the city of Toledo in the direction of the Sea ascending to an altitude of 3’600 meters. At the level of Seville (Spain), the aircraft will increase its ascent to 8’500 meters where it will fly over the Gibraltar Strait and over the Mediterranean Sea proceeding to coast of Morocco.
Solar Impulse is expected to land in Rabat-Salé airport just in time for a late serving of a delicious couscous dish, sometime from 11:00PM, 5 June, avoiding the peak of international air traffic. Official events for youth and adult audiences, seminars and conferences organized by MASEN will take place throughout the week in Rabat.
Although the flight has been confirmed, the Flight Director may still decide to postpone it or alter the route up until a short time before takeoff. During the 2012 Mission flight campaign, each flight can be tracked live on the dedicated web-site and via the Smartphone app “Solar Impulse Inventing the Future”, available free on Appstore and Google Play. The airplane’s position, altitude and speed will be shown live. Cameras will be fitted inside the cockpit and “Mission Control Center”, allowing you to experience the adventure live.
Source: Press Release