Solar plane, Impulse 2, has been stuck in China for two-and-a-half weeks. The experimental plane, which is on a journey around the world without using even a drop of fuel has been grounded in southwestern city of Chongqing due to harsh weather conditions.
Strong winds blowing across China forced the solar plane to take an overnight pit stop on March 31. The 60-membered team of the solar plane had planned to fly out from Chongqing few hours later, but had to dump their plans due to extreme weather conditions, CNN reported.
The solar plane took off from Abu Dhabi on March 9 and has successfully flown through Oman, India, and Myanmar before it got stalled in China. The single seater plane is on a test run and is flown by pilot Bertrand Piccard and Swiss engineer Andre Borschberg, turn by turn.
Impulse 2 is scheduled to fly from Chongqing to Nanjing from where Borschberg, one of the founders of the project, will attempt the ultimate test of the trip - a five-day, non-stop flight across the Pacific to Hawaii. South China Morning Post reported that the solar pIane will visit four more locations in the United States and Europe before landing back to its starting point in Abu Dhabi.
But so far, the solar plane is sending lots of time on the ground. The 72 metres wide and 2.3 tonned plane, made of solar panels and composite materials, is highly susceptible to wind and rain before it can gain the required altitude.
Piccard and Borschberg's mission is to provide a clean and renewable fuel for avaiation. The duo has been working on the project for last 12 years and has completed a tour across the U.S. in 2013 in an earlier version of Implulse 2 before embarking on the round the world trip.