Solar Impulse keeps on soaring

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Engineers mounting solar panels on the wings of Si2 (Jean Revillard/Rezo) Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch

Testing the cockpit in a wind tunnel (Fred Merz/Rezo/Solar Impulse/Polaris) Fred Merz/Rezo/Solar Impulse/Polaris

Taking the plane apart for transport (Jean Revillard/Rezo) Jean Revillard/Rezo

In an inflatable hangar at St Louis International Airport during the US tour in 2013 (Keystone) Keystone

President, initiator and pilot Bertrand Piccard preparing for a 72-hour, non-stop flight simulation at the airbase in Dübendorf, Switzerland (Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch/Solarimpulse

Piccard, pre-simulation (Fred Merz/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Fred Merz/Solar Impulse/Rezo.ch

Perhaps those wires tickle? (Keystone) Keystone

Practising yoga in a replica of the real cockpit used for training purposes (Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch/Solarimpulse

CEO, co-founder and pilot André Borschberg meditates ahead of his flight from Phoenix in 2013 (Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse/Polaris

Swiss food giant Nestlé is in charge of the meals for the pilots (Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch/Solarimpulse

André Borschberg trains for a night flight (Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar Impulse) Jean Revillard/Rezo/Solar impulse

A night flight near the airbase in Payerne, Switzerland (Keystone) Keystone

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With several world records under its belt already, the Solar Impulse team is hoping to make history again by flying around the world solely on solar power.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard, famous for his round-the-world balloon flight, and André Borschberg, a former fighter jet pilot, will take turns flying the plane – which can only carry one person at a time.

Packed with Swiss technology, the Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) is bigger and heavier than its predecessor. It weighs 2.3 tonnes and has a wingspan of 72 metres. Its 17,248 solar cells feed energy to the aircraft’s four propellers.

Additional energy is collected and stored in its lithium-polymer batteries. Flight speeds will be modest, ranging from 36-140 kilometres per hour, depending on time of day and altitude. The maximum cruising altitude is 8,500 metres.

Having flown across the United States in 2013, now the goal is to circle the globe. The half-year adventure kicks off in Abu Dhabi and will include several stops along the way. The Solar Impulse project aims to promote renewable energies and not to replace fuel-powered craft – at least for now.