Solar Impulse has gracefully lifted off of Arizona’s soil at 04:47AM MST (UTC-7) on its way to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Landing is expected to occur tomorrow, Thursday May 23^nd around 01:00 AM CDT (UTC-5).

Piloted by André, the solar airplane will be attempting to break the world distance record in the solar airplane category, a record previously achieved by the same couple – Solar Impulse and André – when connecting Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain) in 2012. The total estimated distance is 868 miles (1396.8 km). The third leg of the Across America mission, Dallas (TX) to St. Louis (MI), will be piloted by Bertrand.

What made today’s departure so unique was the presence of a Native American Medicine Man, Delmar Boni, of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Dressed in traditional clothing with a beautiful crown of feathers partially covering his face, Delmar circled around the pilots, thumb painted yellow, while chanting a pleasant tune.  

He blessed today’s pilot, André, and the wings that will carry him on his journey to Texas. He also blessed his partner and project co-founder, Bertrand. There was something very soothing and mystical about this ritual. The tone of Delmar’s voice and the comforting flow of words he murmured, although incomprehensible to our ears, couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a powerful blessing.

Today’s flight will be challenging because of the length - the longest distance ever flown by this aircraft - but it’s off to a good start: accompanied by America’s history and Native traditions, Solar Impulse is on its way to explore the future.  

Solar Impulse, piloted by André, will take off for Dallas (TX) tomorrow, Wednesday May 22^nd at 4:3045AM MST (UTC-7) from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Landing is scheduled at 01:00AM CDT (UTC-5) at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Should there be any last minute changes, please consult our Dallas page on the Solar Impulse website.

The solar airplane and the team accompanying it were truly moved by the warm welcome they received in Phoenix – by the airport authorities, the public and political officials alike. But it’s time to move on and proceed with the next leg as people in other cities are waiting to welcome the solar airplane as well.

It is now André’s turn to take the commands of the solar airplane for this second leg, Phoenix to Dallas where he will attempt to break the world distance record in the solar aviation category, a record he previously set during the flight Payerne (Switzerland) to Madrid (Spain) in 2012. The total distance is estimated at 868 miles (1396.8 km). The flight from Arizona to Texas via New Mexico will provide André with some spectacular desert landscapes as he flies over Roswell (NM), where Felix Baumgartner completed the famous Red Bull Stratos jump from the stratosphere, towards Hobbs (NM) and then, on his approach to Dallas, above Abilene (TX). The third leg of the Across America mission, connecting Dallas to St. Louis, will be flown by Bertrand.

There are spaces available to come and see the airplane take off from Phoenix Sky Harbor tomorrow. Sign up here today if you want to see the solar airplane lift itself off the ground. Spaces are limited to a first comes first serves basis, so hurry up! If you would prefer to see the plane in flight, go to the butte on Arizona State University’s campus (in front of the Packard Drive bus stop at 6th street and Rio Salado Pkwy) – the plane will be visible with the naked eye.

As part of Solar Impulse’s Clean Generation initiative, meant to inspire and incite politicians, businessman and ordinary people to invest in clean technologies, the first flag displaying the initiative’s slogan and the destination city’s name, in the case Phoenix, was handed to the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer as a token of appreciation for her State’s hospitality. A new custom-designed flag will be brought in the cockpit from Phoenix to Dallas together with a USB key. The key virtually carries the names of Solar Impulse supporters across the United States. If you would like to be part of this pioneering adventure and cross the country with thousands of others, sign up today to become a friend of the project.

Don’t forget that Solar Impulse always films the entire mission flights live. Just go directly to Solar Impulse TV and see the pilots, one from the cockpit and the other from the ground, follow interviews with the people that make it happen and watch footage from past events and flights. Also on the live page, and during all flights, there’s a moving map and virtual cockpit allowing viewers like you to feel as if they too were in the cockpit

During the stopover in Dallas, the Solar Impulse team will organize an Open House on Friday, May 24^th from 2PM to 7PM. Sign up here if you want to see the plane with you own eyes! Changes might occur so if you live in the Dallas area, stay tuned via our homepage or sign up to become a Supporter and get priority information about flights, events and more! 

Our Solar Impulse engineers gave some incredibly good news last week when they announced that Decision, our key supplier of large carbon parts, completed the second airplane’s new wing spar.

In July 2012, during the final structural test of the wing spar, the central part succumbed to the load and broke. This was a vivid reminder that pushing the limits is no easy task and that sometimes, when you’re right on that thin border, you may fall overboard. However, what might have been dramatic in July last year has become an advantage today; the construction delay of HB-SIB brought many new and exciting opportunities such as this year’s Across America mission.

The wing spar is pretty much the solar airplane’s backbone and most important part. It’s the central structure of the wings and, in Solar Impulse’s second generation airplane, it is much larger for a plane meant to fly faster. Consequently, the wings will be subject to more loads by a factor of two. During last year’s failure only the central part of the spar broke and, after thorough testing, the two outer sections of the spar were spared. Nevertheless, the entire spar was rebuilt for consistency reasons, a process that took 10 months, as the design and the production process have since improved. The leftover outboard sections will be kept as a backup.

The wing spar looks like a long rectangular box. It’s fully made out of carbon and it’s glued – or bonded, as the engineers say - together via a very special chemical process, including 20 curing cycles, in a gigantic oven. It takes 64 minutes to bond the parts together and 88 minutes total for the final bracing and cleaning. These time limits must be strictly respected to avoid an uneven process, which can be fatal for the structural integrity of the entire wing spar.

Everything went according to plan thanks to positive collaboration between Decision and our engineers, both working hard to achieve the best and most precise results.  

For more information about the construction of HB-SIB, check out the Making Of or HB-SIB timeline.