Kapolei, Hawaii – Solar Plane Slowly Soars Toward California

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    FILE - In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 file photo, the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane lifts off at the Kalaeloa Airport, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)Kapolei, Hawaii – A solar-powered airplane on an around-the-world journey is about a third of the way from Hawaii to California.

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    The project’s website says the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is nearly 23 hours into a three-day flight over the Pacific with solo pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls.

    A live image from the plane showed the first light of dawn on the horizon.

    The aircraft’s wings are covered with solar cells to take energy from the sun to power the motors turning its propellers. During darkness it relies on energy stored in batteries.

    The aircraft’s destination on this leg of the journey is Mountain View, California, at the southern end of San Francisco Bay.

    The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan before reaching Hawaii.


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