Solar Impulse makes first round-the-world trip
Plane began final journey from Cairo and landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday
- Initial flight took off in March 2015, with pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg guiding it to the finish
Updated : 09:15
The world's first solar powered flight around the world has been completed successfully, as the Solar Impulse landed in Abu Dhabi 16 months after it took off from the same spot.
Bertrand Piccard was the pilot who steered the aircraft home for its final voyage, after having shared the duties with Swiss compatriot Andre Borschberg since the initial departure on March 9 last year.
The final stage of the journey was from Cairo, Egypt to the United Arab Emirates, the 17th part of the overall trip which covered 42,000km.
Mr. Piccard made a bold statement on his arrival to Abu Dhabi about the world's renewable nergy capabilities.
"The future is clean. The future is you. The future is now. Let's take it further,'' Mr Piccard said.
The project was delayed by 10 months after battery damage was sustained during an epic journey from Nagoya in Japan to Hawaii which lasted 118 hours, breaking the world record for the longest uninterrupted solo flight.
There were 18 other aviation records set during the overall journey, despite worries about the vulnerability of the aircraft to adverse weather conditions.