Currently in India to gear up for its journeys to Myanmar and China, Solar Impulse is expected to arrive in Chongqing, the sixth leg of the flight, on March 22 and Nanjing, the seventh, the next day. However, the exact dates of arrival are dependent on the weather conditions in the coming days.
During its three-week stopover in China, many activities will take place and offer the public opportunities to discover this extraordinary project and share the Swiss innovation spirit. Please be advised that for security reasons, there will be no public event organized in Chongqing and Nanjing. Access to Solar Impulse plane will only be possible upon invitation by Solar Impulse or its partners.
However, you are all invited to be part of the project by following Solar Impulse and the Swiss Confederation’s communication campaign. Information on the aircraft will be updated regularly on several Weibo accounts of the Swiss Confederation and the official Chinese website of Solar Impulse (http://solarimpulse.sina.com.cn). The flights will also be broadcast live on the website.
The Embassy, the Consulate and Swissnex will launch serial ‘lucky draw’ activities on their Weibo accounts. 50 winners will be selected for an organized tour to view the aircraft and talk to the pilots at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport in early April. Everyone is welcome to participate!
Solar Impulse, a single-seater airplane manouvered alternately by Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, is powered by solar energy only, thanks to the more than 17,000 built-in solar cells which supply renewable energy to its four electric motors.
The plane departed from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 9, to embark on its epic journey to circumnavigate the globe. It aims to fly a total distance of 35,000 kilometers and stop over at about 13 places in 10 countries during the course of five months before heading back to Abu Dhabi in August.
Till the morning of March 19th, it has succeeded in the first three legs of Abu Dhabi-Muscat (Oman), Muscat-Ahmedabad (India) and Ahmedabad-Varanasi (India). The plane will have its stopovers in Chongqing and Nanjing in China. After Nanjing, it will fly non-stop for five days and nights over the Pacific to Hawaii, one of the most challenging legs of its adventure.
An innovative idea born in Switzerland, the aircraft has the support from a number of Swiss organizations and institutes, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Foreign Department of Federal Affairs (FDFA) and Swiss partner companies. It has become an embodiment of Switzerland’s commitment to environment protection, sustainable development and clean energy, and lasting investment in research and education.
