SOLAR IMPULSE LANDS SAFELY IN TOULOUSE; THE LAST LEG OF THE FLIGHT IS POSTPONED

July 18, 2012 flight2000it

The solar aircraft of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg landed successfully in Toulouse-Francazal airport at 21:46 PM (UTC+2). Originally planned for tomorrow, the take-off for Payerne has been postponed because of growing winds in the area around the Jura, causing strong turbulence in the border region between France and Switzerland.

“It’s exactly what we like in this project, we never get bored!” said half-jokingly André Borschberg, CEO and co-founder of Solar Impulse, after the announcement of the postponed flight, before adding: “We knew the window was tight but unfortunately it closed too early and we took the wise decision to favor safety.” Bertrand Piccard, initiator of the Solar Impulse program, underlined that “If these missions were easy, everybody would have done them long ago!”

Piloted by Bertrand Piccard, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA successfully landed in Toulouse-Francazal airport before proceeding to its final destination in Payerne (Switzerland). Toulouse, headquarters of the historical Aéropostale, the world’s first commercial flight route connecting France to North Africa, was the perfect destination to allow the prototype to approach its home base. As soon as the weather conditions are favorable again, Bertrand Piccard will take the controls of the prototype to bring it back home.

Once the HB-SIA prototype lands in Payerne airfield tomorrow, it will have completed, since its departure for the Crossing Frontiers mission flights on 24 May 2012, almost 6’000 km without a drop a fuel through Switzerland, Spain and Morocco proving the reliability of the aircraft’s technology and the efficiency of its energy consumption.

Solar Impulse made its way to the Kingdom of Morocco, under High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and upon invitation of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), to further strengthen their common goal: to invest in innovative technologies and renewable energies for job creation and sustainable growth. Solar Impulse was honored to be Morocco’s Ambassador and was struck by the public sensitivity to the project and solar energy in general.

Flight Report
Madrid – Toulouse
Pilot: Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman
Take-off time: 17/07/2012 05:33 AM UTC+2
Time of landing: 17/07/2012 21:46 PM UTC+2
Flight duration: 16 hours and 13 minutes
Average speed: 50 km/h
Average altitude: 3 505 mètres (11 500 feet)
Distance: 533 km (288 NM)

Source: Solar Impulse