Flying a solar airplane is no easy task especially when one considers the size of the cockpit, which amounts to a meager 46 ft³ (1,3 m³)! Today’s Phoenix to Dallas flight, which will last approximately 18 hours, will also allow André to beat his previously established absolute distance world record in the solar airplane category, achieved in 2012 during the flight from Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain). The current flight will total 868 miles (1396.8 km).

But how does André stay focused and awake now that he’s only half way? Apart from being in great physical condition, the pilots also have to prove an extraordinary level of concentration and mental strength necessary to maneuver the unique and extremely lightweight solar aircraft during such long legs. In a cockpit devoid of an autopilot and dependent on the Mission Control Center (MCC) for flight route updates, André and Bertrand have to maintain a heightened level of focus throughout each flight.

The only way André could feel anxious before a flight is if he considered himself insufficiently prepared. Aware of this, every aspect of the flight is analyzed to the smallest detail. For example, the day before getting in the cockpit he closes his eyes and visualizes the first hours of the flight from take-off onward. He imagines all possible developments with different “what if” scenarios, even emergency ones, until he feels comfortable with the indications the Flight Director and his team have briefed him on that day. A final, shorter briefing is always given early in the morning the day of the flight to update the pilot on any potential changes.

André actively engages in Yoga, respiratory exercises and meditation. Yoga keeps his muscles flexible and comes in handy in the cockpit to maintain blood circulation. He regularly controls his breathing for many different reasons. For example, when he’s feeling a little tired he will start breathing faster to increase his energy level – an exercise he likes to do the day before a flight. But he will also control his breathing to relax. He does this by inhaling seven times and exhaling seven times bringing his heartbeat to a regular rhythm and allowing him to relax during calmer moments in the air. Finally, meditation is particularly handy the day before a flight, just before going to bed, to clear his mind from unnecessary thoughts ensuring a deep and restful sleep.

The Borschberg family is known to be fond of good food which explains why André doesn’t particularly like the few days preceding a flight. Don’t get me wrong, he’s ecstatic to know he’ll be soon in the cockpit again! The only downside is that he’s required to pay attention to his diet by completely cutting out aliments rich in fiber, like fruits and vegetables (see Brian’s funny video here to understand why). Even during the flight, André only brings snacks like cereal bars, nuts, dried fruits and maybe a sandwich, accompanied by water or a sports beverage.

With a growling stomach at the time of landing, transforming more into a lion’s roar during the ensuing press conference, it’s not surprising that André likes to indulge in a hearty meal – don’t forget to bring out those veggies!

Solar Impulse has gracefully lifted off of Arizona’s soil at 04:47AM MST (UTC-7) on its way to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Landing is expected to occur tomorrow, Thursday May 23^nd around 01:00 AM CDT (UTC-5).

Piloted by André, the solar airplane will be attempting to break the world distance record in the solar airplane category, a record previously achieved by the same couple – Solar Impulse and André – when connecting Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain) in 2012. The total estimated distance is 868 miles (1396.8 km). The third leg of the Across America mission, Dallas (TX) to St. Louis (MI), will be piloted by Bertrand.

What made today’s departure so unique was the presence of a Native American Medicine Man, Delmar Boni, of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Dressed in traditional clothing with a beautiful crown of feathers partially covering his face, Delmar circled around the pilots, thumb painted yellow, while chanting a pleasant tune.  

He blessed today’s pilot, André, and the wings that will carry him on his journey to Texas. He also blessed his partner and project co-founder, Bertrand. There was something very soothing and mystical about this ritual. The tone of Delmar’s voice and the comforting flow of words he murmured, although incomprehensible to our ears, couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a powerful blessing.

Today’s flight will be challenging because of the length - the longest distance ever flown by this aircraft - but it’s off to a good start: accompanied by America’s history and Native traditions, Solar Impulse is on its way to explore the future.  

Solar Impulse, piloted by André, will take off for Dallas (TX) tomorrow, Wednesday May 22^nd at 4:3045AM MST (UTC-7) from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Landing is scheduled at 01:00AM CDT (UTC-5) at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Should there be any last minute changes, please consult our Dallas page on the Solar Impulse website.

The solar airplane and the team accompanying it were truly moved by the warm welcome they received in Phoenix – by the airport authorities, the public and political officials alike. But it’s time to move on and proceed with the next leg as people in other cities are waiting to welcome the solar airplane as well.

It is now André’s turn to take the commands of the solar airplane for this second leg, Phoenix to Dallas where he will attempt to break the world distance record in the solar aviation category, a record he previously set during the flight Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain) in 2012. The total distance is estimated at 868 miles (1396.8 km). The flight from Arizona to Texas via New Mexico will provide André with some spectacular desert landscapes as he flies over Roswell (NM), where Felix Baumgartner completed the famous Red Bull Stratos jump from the stratosphere, towards Hobbs (NM) and then, on his approach to Dallas, above Abilene (TX). The third leg of the Across America mission, connecting Dallas to St. Louis, will be flown by Bertrand.

There are spaces available to come and see the airplane take off from Phoenix Sky Harbor tomorrow. Sign up here today if you want to see the solar airplane lift itself off the ground. Spaces are limited to a first comes first serves basis, so hurry up! If you would prefer to see the plane in flight, go to the butte on Arizona State University’s campus (in front of the Packard Drive bus stop at 6th street and Rio Salado Pkwy) – the plane will be visible with the naked eye.

As part of Solar Impulse’s Clean Generation initiative, meant to inspire and incite politicians, businessman and ordinary people to invest in clean technologies, the first flag displaying the initiative’s slogan and the destination city’s name, in the case Phoenix, was handed to the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer as a token of appreciation for her State’s hospitality. A new custom-designed flag will be brought in the cockpit from Phoenix to Dallas together with a USB key. The key virtually carries the names of Solar Impulse supporters across the United States. If you would like to be part of this pioneering adventure and cross the country with thousands of others, sign up today to become a friend of the project.

Don’t forget that Solar Impulse always films the entire mission flights live. Just go directly to Solar Impulse TV and see the pilots, one from the cockpit and the other from the ground, follow interviews with the people that make it happen and watch footage from past events and flights. Also on the live page, and during all flights, there’s a moving map and virtual cockpit allowing viewers like you to feel as if they too were in the cockpit

During the stopover in Dallas, the Solar Impulse team will organize an Open House on Friday, May 24^th from 2PM to 7PM. Sign up here if you want to see the plane with you own eyes! Changes might occur so if you live in the Dallas area, stay tuned via our homepage or sign up to become a Supporter and get priority information about flights, events and more! 

Our Solar Impulse engineers gave some incredibly good news last week when they announced that Decision, our key supplier of large carbon parts, completed the second airplane’s new wing spar.

In July 2012, during the final structural test of the wing spar, the central part succumbed to the load and broke. This was a vivid reminder that pushing the limits is no easy task and that sometimes, when you’re right on that thin border, you may fall overboard. However, what might have been dramatic in July last year has become an advantage today; the construction delay of HB-SIB brought many new and exciting opportunities such as this year’s Across America mission.

The wing spar is pretty much the solar airplane’s backbone and most important part. It’s the central structure of the wings and, in Solar Impulse’s second generation airplane, it is much larger for a plane meant to fly faster. Consequently, the wings will be subject to more loads by a factor of two. During last year’s failure only the central part of the spar broke and, after thorough testing, the two outer sections of the spar were spared. Nevertheless, the entire spar was rebuilt for consistency reasons, a process that took 10 months, as the design and the production process have since improved. The leftover outboard sections will be kept as a backup.

The wing spar looks like a long rectangular box. It’s fully made out of carbon and it’s glued – or bonded, as the engineers say - together via a very special chemical process, including 20 curing cycles, in a gigantic oven. It takes 64 minutes to bond the parts together and 88 minutes total for the final bracing and cleaning. These time limits must be strictly respected to avoid an uneven process, which can be fatal for the structural integrity of the entire wing spar.

Everything went according to plan thanks to positive collaboration between Decision and our engineers, both working hard to achieve the best and most precise results.  

For more information about the construction of HB-SIB, check out the Making Of or HB-SIB timeline. 

The first event week in Phoenix proved the high interest of the public in Solar Impulse - certainly beyond what was expected. The demand was so high that we had to open an extra public day, in addition to the two originally scheduled.  There were people of all ages, families with kids, aviation enthusiasts and renewable energies supporters. A total of 2,250 people had a chance to view the airplane and we’re hoping to share the same excitement with many more in the stopover cities along the way.

In the evening, the Swiss Consulate organized a dinner event under the wings of the solar airplane with the presence of numerous Consuls, an Ambassador and two Judges including the Governor of Arizona, Mrs. Jan Brewer, the Honorary Consul of Switzerland, Alisa Jost, Secretary of the State of Arizona, Ken Bennett and the Chairman of the Consular Corps of Arizona, Michael Chan.

The mood was festive to the beat of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” – Big Apple here we come! During the event, Bertrand renamed Governor Brewer “Solar Queen” because of the significant investments in solar power Arizona is making with the ambitious objective of making Arizona the first clean tech State in the United States.

Beyond Across America and the mission’s final destination, there were talks about the flight around the world, scheduled for 2015. The Consul General of Mexico, Victor Trevino Escudero, said he hopes his country will extend the partnership to Solar Impulse for a 2015 stopover in Mexico, but I’m afraid he might have some competition for this privilege with a much younger visitor... At the end of a public visit, a little boy carried in his mother’s arms cried out: “Mom, is that going to be the last time I get to see the plane?” We might want to consider paying another visit to Phoenix in 2015 as well, before going to Mexico, as it might make many kids, and this one in particular, very happy.

Photo left: Bertrand, Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer and André. 

Last week, the Solar Impulse team at Moffett was presented with an unusual visit. Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group, British business tycoon and entrepreneur, showed up at Moffett Airfield. Although it might have appeared as a surprise, the parallels between Solar Impulse and Richard are all too evident for it to be a simple coincidence.

Richard and Bertrand have a relationship that stretches back to their ballooning days. In fact, Richard, with Per Lindstrand, were the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon in 1991. Seven years later, in 1999, Bertrand, with Brian Jones, were the first to circumnavigate the globe beating Richard, Linstrand and Fossett’s similar attempt in 1998. “I doff my cap to him” Richard said elegantly when asked about the potential rivalry this might have caused.

Richard was extremely enthusiastic and impressed at the sight of Solar Impulse, to the point that he jokingly added, "I just need to find a way to smuggle that plane out in my pocket!” Richard is also looking at ways to harness solar power by using it to tow aircraft onto the runway in the near future.

One could feel the camaraderie between André, Bertrand and Richard as the pilots showed off their engineering jewel to the Englishman. He even recognized, in HB-SIA’s sleek silhouette, a great communication tool – a message carrier, a “weapon” to showcase the potential of clean techs and innovation – values Richard also shares.

Richard didn’t hesitate to become Solar Impulse’s Patron and, as he was leaving for another engagement in his busy schedule, he gave big thumbs up with his trademark smile “I always set myself challenges that might seem impossible…” Wait, haven’t I heard that somewhere already? André? Bertrand? I think we found our project’s new soul mate!