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Solar Impulse 2 lands in Abu Dhabi, creates history

Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, Masdar was the host partner of SI2.

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The long awaited Solar Impulse 2 has landed at Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen Airport. The first aircraft to fly around the world on solar power, Si2 departed from Cairo on July 24 at 3.28am (UAE time).

I am flying..I am flying..Home again..cross the sea! #Si2 the only solar powered plane will soon arrive in #AbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/vuP6dGHAWw
- SOLAR IMPULSE (@solarimpulse) July 25, 2016

From Cairo, the flight went southwest and crossed the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia 10 hours after its departure. From here, the route continued straight across Saudi Arabia, eventually flying over Dammam, then Manama in Bahrain before turning southwest again for Abu Dhabi.
Running solely on solar power, the entire aircraft is covered with solar panels, which are charging while the plane flies.

Thanks, @BertrandPiccard: "It's normal that @SolarImpulse comes back to #AbuDhabi, because we share the same spirit" pic.twitter.com/uSaI4nbc28
- Masdar (@Masdar) July 25, 2016

To keep the aircraft as light as possible, there is room for just one seat in the Si2, and the two Swiss pilots who worked on designing and flying the world's first solar plane, Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, took turns in flying the aircraft.
Since Borschberg was the first to fly "out" the Si2, from Abu Dhabi to Muscat in March 2015, Piccard is flying the last leg from Cairo to Abu Dhabi. In between, there were 14 stops, including in India, China, the USA, Europe and back in the Middle East, where the two pilots made a case for clean energy.

Today, HE Dr Al Jaber called @bertrandpiccard of @solarimpulse to wish him smooth arrival to #AbuDhabi. Video: pic.twitter.com/SxzhGI2FNh
- Masdar (@Masdar) July 25, 2016

In fact, the whole point of Si2 was to prove that it is possible to save billions of tonnes of carbon emissions and fly using solar energy. Aviation may still be far from building its first commercial solar aircraft, but the technology is available to start working on it.
After crossing both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, and flying over 40,000 kilometers around the world in nearly 510 hours, Si2 is finally returning home to a VIP welcome. Apart from UAE officials, Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann and Prince Albert II of Monaco have arrived in Abu Dhabi for the historic event.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com