Hawaii residents bid farewell to the Solar Impulse 2 as the aircraft powered only by the sun’s rays departed on the ninth leg of its round-the-world journey Thursday morning.
Crowds cheered as Solar Impulse 2 took to the sky at 6:15 a.m. with Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls. The departure came after wind forced the crew to roll the aircraft back into the hangar for a one-hour delay. Piccard will fly to Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, Calif., south of San Francisco. The flight from Hawaii to California will take approximately three days as Piccard is expected to land at 9 p.m. California time Saturday.
Before boarding, Piccard said it was tough to leave Hawaii because of the friends whom he and the team have met since the aircraft landed in July.
“Moving from here is emotional, but we’re happy to continue the flight,” Piccard said. “Thank you for your support. We are leaving a lot of friends.”
The Solar Impulse 2 had been sitting at Kalaeloa Airport since Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg touched down from Japan after five days and nights in the air, marking the longest solar flight both by time and distance.
“I share Bertrand’s feeling,” Borschberg said. “It’s hard to leave this island.”
Grounded for repairs
The Solar Impulse 2’s team shared the news that the solar-powered plane was grounded shortly after Borschberg arrived, saying the batteries were damaged during the five-day flight. After eight months of waiting for battery repairs, longer daylight hours and good weather, the Solar Impulse 2 lifted into the air at sunrise.
“I’m extremely happy that Bertrand is in the air,” Borschberg said. “We have one window, and if you miss it, it is postponed for a few days.”
Families, classmates and aspiring aviators gathered to see the plane off, some arriving as early as 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Manoa resident Michele Matsuo, 60, was among approximately 200 onlookers who gathered around Hangar 111 at Kalaeloa Airport.
“It was so moving. It just lifted. It just hung in the air and floated by,” Matsuo said after she saw the plane depart. “It was so spiritual.”
Matsuo and her daughter Allegra Matsuo Mossman, 19, said they had been following Solar Impulse 2’s journey since it left Japan.
“It was like long-held hope finally being realized,” Matsuo Mossman said.
Ewa resident Matthew Mangold, 16, said he was inspired by the two explorers because he hopes to become a pilot in the Air Force and later an astronaut for NASA.
“I’m very passionate about the Solar Impulse,” Mangold said. “I have been deeply inspired by the achievements of Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.”
Native Hawaiian master ocean navigator Nainoa Thompson hugged the pilots goodbye and presented them with fishhooks made by Kamehameha Schools students. Thompson said the hooks were symbolic for the great fishhook of the Hawaiian mythology culture hero and ancient chief, Maui.
Thompson is captain of the Hokule‘a, the Polynesian voyaging canoe sailing around the globe promoting sustainability.
The Hokule‘a crew also gave the fishhooks to Desmond Mpilo Tutu, a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop; the Dalai Lama; and Sir Richard Branson.
“When (the Hokule‘a) runs around the world, we give the fishhooks to those who are making a difference to the earth,” Thompson said. “When you get a chance to sit down with the pilots, it is very similar to what we go through.”
Community mission
Similar to the Hokule‘a crew, the Solar Impulse 2 pilots said their mission is to promote clean technology by displaying its capabilities.
“This plane represents what we can do on the ground in our communities and in our cities,” Borschberg said. “We get energy from nature, from the sun, from the wind. We manage in such a way that we store it and use it when we need it, for example to fly through the night when there is no energy available for us. That is exactly what we can do for our communities. … I call it the flying grid. This type of grid is what we need on the ground.”
The sun is the only source of energy for Solar Impulse 2. The plane’s wings were built using more than 17,000 solar cells, four electric motors and lithium batteries to replace the need for fuel. Its 236-foot wingspan matches that of a Boeing 747. It weighs the same as a family car but has the power of a small motorcycle. Solar Impulse 2 has a team of 80 engineers and technicians.
Crew members held hands in a circle around the Solar Impulse 2 before Piccard boarded the plane. Members of the crowd sang “Aloha ‘Oe” to the pilot in farewell. Miss Hawaii 2013 Stephanie Steuri danced hula for the pilots before Piccard climbed into the cockpit.
Excitement soars
Classmates Teiji Miyashiro, 8, and Matthew Parker, 9, said they were excited to be near the runway to watch the plane make history.
“It’s the first round-the-world trip ever by solar plane,” Parker said. “It’s part of history.”
“It’s my first time seeing two pilots travel around the world without fuel,” Miyashiro said.
Makakilo residents Lovina Kerfoot, 68, and Joe Kerfoot, 69, said the aircraft would be connecting the family as their son is in California.
“He’s so excited, too,” Kerfoot said. “He can’t wait for it to land.”
Hawaii was the first of five U.S. destinations for the plane. After California the Solar Impulse 2 will stop in Phoenix, head to an as-yet-undetermined stop in the Midwest, then land in New York before the Atlantic crossing. After New York the plane will land in either North Africa or southern Europe and then head back to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the journey began.
Since leaving Abu Dhabi in March 2015, the plane has traveled to Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; Chongqing and Nanjing, China; and Nagoya, Japan.
Piccard and Borschberg alternate who pilots the plane at each stop. Together they will rack up about 500 flight hours during the around-the-world voyage in the plane’s 4-by-6-1/2-foot cockpit.
