Grounded by the light

Work continued on Solar Impulse 2 at Kalaeloa Airport on Monday as crew members of the solar-powered plane prepare for a mainland departure no sooner than Aug. 1.

About 15 crew members were working at the University of Hawaii’s Hangar 111 where the Solar Impulse 2 cockpit sat exposed, waiting for repairs.

After the batteries of the plane overheated during the record-breaking 118-hour flight to Hawaii, Solar Impulse said the plane would not leave the island for two or three weeks.

The plane landed in Hono­lulu on July 3 after Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg broke the record for the longest nonstop solar flight.

Borschberg and Solar Impulse 2 co-founder and pilot Ber­trand Piccard are attempting to fly the plane around the world powered only by the sun.

The Solar Impulse team said Saturday that the batteries were overinsulated and overheated on the first day of the plane’s Pacific crossing to Hawaii from Japan.

The Solar Impulse engineering team is working on improving the plane’s cooling and heating proc­esses during long flights as damage to certain parts of the batteries is irreversible and requires repairs and replacements, Solar Impulse said.

Some members of the Solar Impulse crew were working at the office within the hangar Monday afternoon while others worked remotely.

"If one cannot cope with disappointment and frustration, one should not aim for exploration and adventure," Piccard said on his Twitter account Monday.

Since the plane landed in Hawaii, the Swiss crew has hosted multiple events for Hawaii residents and navigation leaders to view Solar Impulse 2.

Hokule‘a crew members visited the hangar Monday, joined by Borschberg and some of the crew. Piccard met with prominent navigator Nai­noa Thompson on Thursday.

The Solar Impulse team held a public viewing after the landing and invited UH students to visit the plane at the hangar.

Solar Impulse representatives would not say whether there would be additional public viewing opportunities while the plane remained in Hawaii.

The repairs in Hawaii, pushing back takeoff for two to three weeks, are not the first delay for Solar Impulse 2. The plane was grounded in Japan for nearly a month as the team waited on weather.

After the repairs are complete, the Solar Impulse 2 will travel to Phoenix.

The plane also will make an as-yet-to-be-determined stop in the Midwest, followed by a landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Solar Impulse 2’s landing in Hawaii completed eight legs of the 13-leg venture.

Since leaving Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in March, the plane has traveled to Muscat, Oman; Ahmed­­a­bad and Vara­­nasi, India; Mandalay, Myan­mar; Chongqing and Nanjing, China; and Nagoya, Japan.