Approximately 10 hours ago, André Borschberg set the record for the longest solo flight as he piloted Solar Impuse across the Pacific as part of that team's effort at circumnavigating the globe in a solar-powered craft. The previous record had been set in an around-the-world flight by Steve Fossett in a conventionally powered aircraft.
The original plan had been to fly Solar Impulse to Hawaii from China, but changing weather conditions forced the curtailment of the first flight, rerouting the destination to Nagoya, Japan. There, the aircraft sat on the ground through an extended wait for the right weather conditions. Those finally arrived roughly four days ago, at which point Borschberg started the record-setting flight.
At the moment, Solar Impulse has covered over 6,800km (about 4,230 miles)—longer than the straight line distance to Hawaii, but the route it's taken has been somewhat indirect. It's estimated that the first possible chance at landing will be roughly 24 hours from now. It's currently night time over the Pacific, and Solar Impulse is discharging its batteries and has drifted down to an altitude of 2,500m (about 8,200 feet).
This is the longest leg of the journey, and completing it is a key milestone for the effort. Since every leg of the flight is taking place in the Northern Hemisphere, the trip has to be completed over the summer months in order to ensure sufficient power. And the ultra-lightweight aircraft needs favorable winds and calm weather conditions in order to complete the longer legs in a reasonable amount of time. Crossing the Pacific will put it in a much better place to finish the journey this year.
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