The Solar Impulse (Si2) aircraft has arrived in China on the fifth leg of its epic global circumnavigation, marrying for the first time the world's largest solar market with the industry's most ambitious technological innovation. The Si2 left Mandalay in Burma on Monday, at 3.36 am local time, embarking on its most challenging flight to date that took the solar-powered aircraft high above the mountainous Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, arriving 20 hours and 29 minutes later at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. This arduous leg of the journey saw the Si2 cover 1,459 kilometers and rise to new altitudes, forcing Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard to wear an oxygen mask as the aircraft glided through strong winds of 40 knots and -20c temperatures. Welcoming Piccard and the Si2 crew at ...Den vollständigen Artikel lesen ...