During the last flight from Madrid to Toulouse, Bertrand Piccard had a singular and very stimulating call from one of Solar Impulse’s newest patrons, James Cameron, film Director of world renowned movies such as Titanic and Avatar.

The Solar Impulse program is privileged to have a number of eminent supporters who believe in the project and its message. There are two types of patrons: the humanists, including Prince Albert II of Monaco, Paolo Coelho, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Al Gore, Jean Verne, Jean-Louis Etienne, Hubert Reeves; and the explorers, including Richard Wiese, Erik Lindbergh, Nicolas Hulot, Don Walsh, Elie Wiesel, Buzz Aldrin and, the most recent to join, James Cameron.

James Cameron supports Solar Impulse not only for its vision of seeking solutions away from the dependence on fossil fuels, but also for its pioneering spirit. An explorer himself, he followed the traces of Bertrand’s father, Jacques Piccard, and Solar Impulse’s patron, Don Walsh, descending to the Mariana Trench this year, the Earth’s deepest point. He even jokingly said that he’s making movies just to finance his thirst for adventure.

James Cameron said he instantaneously accepted the proposition to become a Solar Impulse patron as he and Don Walsh bestowed the Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society this June upon Jacques Piccard posthumously.