Solar plane lands in Hawaii after record-breaking 5-day flight (Updated)

Solary Impulse 2, piloted by veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg, flew 118 hours from Japan to Hawaii without consuming a single drop of fuel, smashing records for solar-powered and solo flight

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Saturday morning update

Solar Impulse lands in Hawaii, completing historic flight

Kapolei, United States, July 3, 2015  AFP – The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft completed a historic flight in its quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel, touching down gracefully in Hawaii on Friday after the most arduous leg of its journey.

The sun-powered plane, piloted by veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg, took 118 hours – about five days – to make the voyage from Japan to Hawaii and landed shortly after dawn at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu.

"Just landed in #Hawaii with @solarimpulse! For @bertrandpiccard and I, it's a dream coming true," Borschberg tweeted triumphantly after completing the most perilous part of the around-the-world odyssey.

Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard have been alternating the long solo flights and Japan to Hawaii – where it was Borschberg in sole control – was the eighth of 13 legs.

The experimental plane landed a little after 1600 GMT (23:00 Thai time), and Borschberg, all smiles, emerged a short time later from the cockpit, later adorning a traditional Hawaiian flower lei and holding a celebratory bottle of champagne.

Sunlight glimmered on the horizon as the Solar Impulse ground crew burst into cheers and applause upon completion of the groundbreaking flight.

The 4,000-mile leg (6,500 kilometers) from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii was not only the world's longest solar-powered flight both in terms of flying time and distance, it also set the record for longest solo flight by time.

The whole trip from Japan to Hawaii took four days and 22 hours, with the Swiss aviator taking catnaps of only 20 minutes at a time to maintain control of the pioneering plane.

Note: The audio file can be found below the full text

Friday's stories

21:15 Almost there

Landing is Hawaii is now expected at about 23:00 our time, less than two hours from now. Check the link at the bottom if you want to watch the landing live.

15:50  Definitely getting closer now, but the Solar Impulse 2 is still several hours away from landing. It is not like a commercial flight.

Noon update

If you look at the distance to Hawaii, it looks like the Solar Impulse 2 has made slow progress in the past several hours, but one very positive event has occurred. Organisers say the solar-powered plane has past the last cold weather front before Hawaii which they likened to "jumping over the wall".

Morning story

Solar Impulse sets record but faces 'difficult' hours

Los Angeles, July 2, 2015, AFP – A solar-powered aircraft flying from Japan to Hawaii on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organizers said Thursday.

But they admitted that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg is exhausted after more than four days of continuous flying, making the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging.

"UPDATE #PACIFIC: @andreborschberg is tired. W/ turbulence at 8'000 feet & a cold front close, SITUATION IS DIFFICULT," said a tweeted update from the mission control center (MCC) of the pioneering Solar Impulse 2 aircraft.

"#MCC #solarTEAM is working hard to assess the situation & help @andreborschberg during this stressful period."

The plane is due to land Friday morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 30 kilometers west of Honolulu.

By 1930 GMT Thursday (02:30 Wednesday Thai time) Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 percent of the way to the tropical US state, having flown 7,075 kilometers  (By 8am our time, that had reached 90%).

But it was in the process of crossing a cold front which requires Borschberg to navigate carefully, significantly increasing stress levels for the 62-year-old.

So far Borschberg has flown more than 100 hours – easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight, by Steve Fossett, who flew for 76 hours and 45 minutes in 2006.

The whole trip from Japan to Hawaii was expected to take 120 hours.

The Swiss aviator is napping for only 20 minutes at a time to maintain control of the pioneering plane. He is equipped with a parachute and life raft, in case he needs to ditch in the Pacific.

The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 1800 GMT Sunday – the early hours of Monday local time – after spending a month in the central city of Nagoya.

The propeller-driven plane was originally scheduled to fly directly from Nanjing in China to Hawaii, but bad weather along the way forced a diversion to Japan that stretched to a month.

Borschberg is alone and entirely self-reliant in the unpressurized cockpit.Traveling at altitudes of more than 9,000 meters, he has to use oxygen tanks to breathe and experiences huge swings in temperature throughout the day.

Solar Impulse 2 set off from Abu Dhabi earlier this year in a multi-leg attempt to fly around the world without a single drop of fuel.

Its wingspan is longer than that of a jumbo jet but it weighs only 2.3 tonnes – about the same as a car.

You can follow the final stages of the flight to Hawaii live here: http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-8-from-Nagoya-to-Hawaii

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