Solar Impulse flying South

[Homo Aeroportus]

The Solar Impulse Team announced today that HB-SIA will fly to the Kingdom of Morroco in May or June this year.

The +2500km flight will make a tech stop in Spain with a change of pilot (A. Borschberg and B. Piccard).

Stay tuned.

H.A.

[sn26567]

More sun! It will be easier...

[Homo Aeroportus]

First leg of the flight is planned for TOMORROW, May 24.

Seems they have a nice Wx window and HB-SIA is to take off at 0645z, 0845LT, from Payerne.
Across France via Toulouse, then crossing over the Pyrenees and heading for MAD with an ETA of ... 0200LT on Friday early morning.
Solar Impulse will fly at higher altitudes than during previous flights i.e. up to FL280 !

Life coverage on http://www.solarimpulse.com to track it throughout.

The next leg will take it to Morocco. Date not determined.

Enjoy.

H.A.

[sn26567]

A new great adventure in view. But the departure will be at 06:45 local time (UTC+2).

The flights can now also be followed on smartphones, thanks new new apps for iPhone and Android.

[sn26567]

André Borschberg took off with Solar Impulse at 08:24 (UTC+2) from Payerne (with some delay due to fog). Flight to Madrid Barajas is proceeding well, through Lons-le-Saunier, Tournus, Roanne, ... Just crossed the Spanish border at an altitude of 8250 m, with still 100% battery load.

Video of superb (very short) take-off: http://www.solarimpulse.com/timeline/view/6211

Live: http://live.solarimpulse.com

[Homo Aeroportus]

S.I. just crossed the Spanish border.

Due to bad Wx (CBs) Luc Trullemans re-routed her somewhat more to the West towards Tarbes.

After overflying the Pyrenees close to FL280, actually 8400m, S.I. is now heading on 220 straight towards Madrid where she should arrive around 2310LT but will be on a holding pattern till probably 0200 before being cleared for landing after traffic has eased.
Batteries are currently charged at 100% so she should be no problem to reach destination (TLS was the planned alternate).

Pretty impressive organization when you realize the necessary coordination with ATC.

Cheers.

H.A.

[sn26567]

A video of the best moments of the flight from payerne to Madrid is available on the Solar Impulse website:



No departure date and time from Madrid to Rabat have been set yet. The team is waiting for a more favourable weather forecast.

[Homo Aeroportus]

Just got an e-mail from Solar Impulse Supporters Program.

The next flight will take off tomorrow morning. This is the second leg of Payerne-Madrid-Rabat.

This time Bertrand Picard will be at the controls of HB-SIA.
Take-off from MAD is planned at 0530LT, 0330z (André, hope I didn't goof this time ).
ETA at Rabat-Salé, GMME-RBA, is 1100LT, 1000z.

Initial part will be flown at 3500m, increasing to 8500m (FL280) as from Sevilla.
Anybody an idea as to why this climb? She will be well to the West of the Sierra Nevada range???

As usual the mission will be live on http://www.solarimpulse.com

Enjoy.

H.A.

[sn26567]

Not yet reported here, but you all know by now that the Solar Impulse has landed safely on Rwy 03 in Rabat airport, at 22.29 GMT (Local Time 23:29), after 19 hour flight from Spain. Congratulations!

[galaxy]

Beautiful night landing in Rabat :


Some details :
http://www.solarimpulse.com/timeline/view/6298

[sn26567]

The Solar Impulse‏ might take off for a possible flight to Ouarzazate tomorrow, Wednesday 13th of June.

http://www.solarimpulse.com/timeline/view/6326

[sn26567]

Solar Impulse took off this morning at 07:07 UTC from Rabat (Morocco) and is expected to land at Ouarzazate tonight around 23:30 UTC.

Follow the flight live on www.solarimpulse.com

[Homo Aeroportus]

Things are not developping as planned.

Headwinds much stronger than anticipated.
With a heading of 220-230, her track is ... 090° !
Actually flying backward at moments, bringing the Solar Impulse in the same aircraft category as ... the Harrier !
With such a speed let's hope S.I. doesn't join the A10 in his "fame" : the only aircraft in the USAF inventory to risk bird strike ... from the rear !

After having tried flying higher altitudes, currently around FL260, mission control has decided to cancel the mission to Ouarzazate and RTB Rabat. Current position is still North of Ben Guerir, not even half way between CMN and RAK.
Nevertheless, S.I. will continue climbing and kill time basically standing still on the map before returning to Rabat where it will not be allowed to land before midnight.

Stay tuned.

H.A.

[sn26567]

Solar Impulse landed back in Rabat at 23:14 UTC on Rwy 03. Now waiting for more favourable winds to try again to fly to Ouarzazate.

But how could the renowned team of meteorologists (among which Luc Trullemans) make such a mistake?

[galaxy]

Solar Impulse landed back in Rabat at 23:14 UTC on Rwy 03. Now waiting for more favourable winds to try again to fly to Ouarzazate.

But how could the renowned team of meteorologists (among which Luc Trullemans) make such a mistake?

Video interview with Luc Trullemans about the flight :
http://www.solarimpulse.com/timeline/vi ... cRIY.email

[sn26567]

From an e-mail sent this morning by the Solar Impulse team:

The weather forecast is favourable for the HB-SIA’s second attempt to fly to Morocco’s city of Ouarzazate, tomorrow 21 of June.

André Borschberg will try once again to fly to the city that will host the world’s largest thermo-solar power complex. Take-off is expected around 07:00AM (UTC+1).

Because of the hot and arid climate in the region, two possible itineraries are being evaluated to reach Ouarzazate. The first route will mostly follow the itinerary of the first attempted flight, flying near Casablanca in the direction of Marrakesh at an altitude of 8’600 meters, avoiding thermal currents from the ground. From there, it will then proceed to its descent into Ouarzazate International airport. The second one will follow the coastline at a low altitude, approximately at 2’000 meters, as thermal currents are weaker over water. It will then lead the pilot inland towards Essaouira before landing at its final destination in Ouarzazate. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) and the Solar Impulse team are expecting to welcome André with a steaming pot of mint tea sometime after midnight (UTC+1), Friday 22 June.

This flight is an excellent occasion to bring the Solar Impulse project to the next level by pushing the limits of the aircraft and the team. Because of the difficult meteorological conditions in the region, the team is faced with a new challenge that will further train them in crisis and risk mitigation ahead of the 2014 world tour.

[Homo Aeroportus]

Solar Impulse currently flying at FL300 !

She is flying a tight pattern SW of RAK, Marrakesh, in what may be called a thermal pump.
Actually the OAT is "only" -26°C which is rather "warm" at that altitude.

The idea is to gather a lot of potential energy in order to preserve the batteries when flying down into Ouarzazate for a landing planned around midnight LT. However, there is a risk that Wx prevents landing at that time and André Borschberg may have to remain aloft until 0400lt, hence the need to keep batteries full for the night.

H.A.

[sn26567]

Solar Impulse is in sight 4000 meters above Ouarzazate. Pilot Andre Borschberg is cold and descents fast. But it is still too windy on the ground for landing.

[sn26567]

Solar Impulse landed yesterday at 23:25 UTC in Ouarzazate!

Well done, guys!

[Homo Aeroportus]

Though technically they could have continued flying South to return to Payerne (but that would have been heck of a flight ), Solar Impulse will force us to amend the title of this post :

Solar Impluse flying NORTH,as from tomorrow, taking off from Ouarzazate around 0500z heading to Rabat where HB-SIA should land after 2100z.
Pilot André Borschberg again.
This is the first leg of the return to Payerne. Further to an A (? ) 50-hour check there, she will take off again possibly towards Toulouse this time.

As usual, check on http://www.solarimpulse.com

Enjoy.

H.A.