Swiss pilot and co-founder of the Solar Impulse-project, André Borschberg, departed at 14:03 CEST (12:03 UTC, 05:03 Local Time) from Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, California, and took direction towards Goodyear Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, in order to cross a part of the continental landmass of the USA.

This flight of Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) is the 10th leg of the first ever circumnavigation with a solar-powered airplane. The flight is estimated to last approximately 16 - 17 hours and the distance to Goodyear Airport will be about 1,200 kilometres. Phoenix is also known as the Valley of the Sun, a centre for renewable energy solutions, so the whole Solar Impulse Team will be in excellent hands. After this stop, the plane is expected to fly to New York before crossing the Atlantic Ocean into Europe, and finally arriving in Abu Dhabi (UAE), where the journey began in March last year.

Si2 took off from Kakaeloa Airport in Hawaii on 21 April 2016 at 6:15 am Hawaiian time (UTC 16:15) and landed safely at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View after over 62 hours of flight. This was the 9th leg and the first ever solar-powered airplane to cross the Pacific Ocean without a drop of fuel.

FAI - the World Air Sports Federation wishes the whole Team of Solar Impulse 2 Blue Skies and Happy Landings!

Photo Credit: Solar Impulse