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Solar Impulse 2 on its last leg to Abu Dhabi to complete global tour

Xinhua, July 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Solar Impulse 2 (SI2), the fully-solar energy powered plane, has left Egypt on Sunday for its last stop of global tour of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Piloted by the Swiss project's co-founder, Bertrand Piccard, the zero-fuel aeroplane took off Cairo at 3 a.m. UAE time (GMT2300 Saturday).

The flight will take approximately 48 hours and be expected to arrive at Al-Bateen Airport in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Swiss adventurer and environmentalist Piccard, who initiated the project 12 years ago, said that Egypt was where he first began thinking of making a circumnavigation using only solar power.

"I'm excited to come so close to the goal, but unfortunately there are still so many people we have to motivate before having a world running on the same clean technologies," UAE daily The National quoted Piccard as saying.

The plane is co-sponsored by Abu Dhabi's government-controlled environmental company Masdar (Arabic for resource), and it took off for its round-the-world journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi.

The final leg of the journey is expected to be as challenging as the previous 16 cities, mostly due to the summer heat in the Middle East.

The hot temperatures will test the limits of the plane and can cause thermals and turbulence, forcing the pilot to wear an oxygen mask for extended periods of time.

"We have never had to deal with temperatures so high before on our round-the-world tour, but a little challenge at the end of our mission is always good," the Solar Impulse said on their blog.

The plane has been piloted by both Piccard and Borschberg around the world, stopping off at 16 cities, among them Nanjing, China, to raise awareness on the viability of renewable energy. Endit