A thrilling year for Solar Impulse starting with a simulation of a 72-hour flight and culminating in the decoration of André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard by King Mohammed VI after completing world’s first fully solar-powered intercontinental flight. While HB-SIA, piloted alternately by André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, made its way this summer from Payerne (Switzerland) to Ouarzazate (Morocco) with intermediate stops in Madrid (Spain) and Rabat (Morocco), Solar Impulse’s team of engineers continued the construction of HB-SIB, Solar Impulse’s second generation aircraft.

February

• February 24: Successful simulation of a 72-hour flight (3 days and 3 nights).

May

• May 7: Bertrand Piccard’s last test flight before the 2012 Crossing Frontiers Mission flights.
• May 11: Launching of Solar Impulse’s new website.
• May 21: Structural testing of HB-SIB’s gondola in Dübendorf.
• May 25: First leg of Solar Impulse’s first intercontinental flight begins. HB-SIA lands successfully in Madrid.

June

• June 6: Solar Impulse completes its first intercontinental flight and lands in Rabat, on Moroccan soil.
• June 13: HB-SIA takes off for first attempt to reach Ouarzazate, the doorstep to the Moroccan desert.
• June 22: Solar Impulse triumphantly lands in Ouarzazate to the beat of traditional Berber music happily concluding its 2^nd attempt to reach its destination in Southern Morocco.
• June 28: HB-SIA returns to Rabat after a week of events in Ouarzazate, and begins its return home.

July

• July 5: Wing spar of HB-SIB cracks and the final structural test fails.
• July 7: Solar Impulse lands in Madrid.
• July 17: HB-SIA lands in Toulouse-Francazal airport.
• July 24: The Solar Impulse team concludes the world’s first roundtrip, fully solar-powered intercontinental flight by landing safely at its home base in Payerne, Switzerland. The 2012 Crossing Frontiers mission flights conclude to the sounds of Switzerland’s traditional Alphorn music.

August

• August 30: André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard receive a decoration by King Mohammed VI for their courage and efforts to promote the Moroccan solar program with their flight to Rabat and Ouarzazate.

After a successful conclusion to the world’s first roundtrip fully solar-powered intercontinental flight, here are the major highlights of what has been achieved:

MAY 2012

1.       24 May: Payerne to Madrid

• Pilot: André Borschberg
• Departure: 06:24 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 11:28 PM (UTC) at Madrid-Barajas International airport (Spain).
• Highlights:
  • Three world records currently being verified by the Air Sports Federation (FAI) for this flight.

JUNE 2012

2.       5 June: Madrid to Rabat

• Pilot: Bertrand Piccard
• Departure: 3:30 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 10:30 PM (UTC) at Rabat-Salé International Airport (Morocco).
• Highlights:
  • World’s first solar-powered intercontinental flight linking Europe to Africa.
  • Bertrand’s first Solar Impulse mission flight.

 3.       13 June: 1^st Attempt Rabat to Ouarzazate

• Pilot: André Borschberg
• Departure: 07:07 AM (UTC)
• Landing: HB-SIA returned to Rabat landing at 11:14 PM (UTC)
• Highlights:  
  • André undertook a reconnaissance mission to a local meteorological station prior to the flight to benefit from local knowledge complementing Solar Impulse’s sophisticated modeling programs.
  • The winds were twice as strong as expected, keeping the solar aircraft at a standstill. For the safety of the aircraft and pilot, the Flight Director decided to turn back.

 4.       21 June: 2^nd Attempt Rabat to Ouarzazate

• Pilot: André Borschberg
• Departure: 06:05 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 11:25 PM (UTC) at Ouarzazate International airport (Morocco).
• Highlights:
  • Symbolic destination to inaugurate the beginning of construction of what will the world’s largest thermo-solar power plant.
  • The aircraft was facing away from the sun most of the flight and André was shivering and very cold during a large portion of the leg.

 5.       29 June: Ouarzazate to Rabat

• Pilot: André Borschberg
• Departure: 6:33 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 09:22 PM (UTC) at Rabat-Salé international airport (Morocco).
• Highlights:
  • Strong westerly winds over the Atlas Mountains made finding a flight plan challenging.
  • In Rabat, HB-SIA underwent the usual technical check-up scheduled after a total of 50 hours of flight.

JULY 2012

6.       6 July: Rabat to Madrid

• Pilot: Bertrand Piccard
• Departure: 5:17 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 11:19 PM (UTC) at Madrid-Barajas International airport (Morocco).
• Highlights:
  • Bertrand not only had a guest in the cockpit (a Moroccan fly) but also completed the Solar Impulse speed record both forwards and backwards.

7.       17 July: Madrid to Toulouse

• Pilot: Bertrand Piccard
• Departure: 03:33 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 07:46 PM (UTC) at Toulouse-Francazal airport (France).
• Highlights:
  • Originally meant to be a direct flight to Payerne the small window of opportunity quickly closed causing Bertrand to land in Toulouse.
  • Toulouse: Headquarters of the historical Aéropostale, the world’s first commercial flight route connecting France to North Africa.

8.       24 July: Toulouse to Payerne

• Pilot: Bertrand Piccard
• Departure: 05:01 AM (UTC)
• Landing: 06:30 PM (UTC) at Payerne airfield (Switzerland)
• Highlights:
  • Landing welcomed by a group of Swiss Alphorn musicians and cheering spectators.
  • World’s first roundtrip fully solar-powered intercontinental flight.
  • 6’000km flown
  • 8 legs
  • 4 countries
  • 2 continents
  • 3 FAI world records being verified.
  • Over 2’723’391 unique visitors to the Solar Impulse website.
  • Over 4’164’130 viewers of the LIVE broadcastings.

2011: HB-SIA’s first international flights

In early 2011 Schindler joined as Solar Impulse’ fourth main partner. It was also the year that HB-SIA undertook its first international flights to Europe’s central nervous system, Brussels (Belgium), and to the world renowned Paris Le Bourget Airshow (France) for aviation amateurs. After two exciting months abroad, the prototype returned home safely and Bertrand Piccard flew the solar aircraft for the first time.

March

• 21 March: Schindler become Solar Impulse’s fourth main partner.

April

• 11 April: Flight test piloted by Markus Scherdel in preparation for the flight to Paris le Bourget in June. The objective of the flight was to test if the structure of the aircraft goes into resonance by repeatedly jerking the control stick and to check its overall behavior during emergencies by making an emergency descent with airbrakes fully open.
• 26 April: Engineers celebrate the building of the 10’000^th part built from scratch.

May

• 13 May: On Friday the 13^th, almost after 13 hours of flight, André Borschberg lands in Brussels for Solar Impulse’s first international flight. The symbolism behind the choice of this first international destination was to encourage a political discourse at the heart of the European Union in favor of greater investments in renewable energies.

June

• June 14: Solar Impulse, special guest of the Le Bourget Airshow, lands in Paris and is ready to be presented at the International Exhibition of Aeronautics and Space, 20-26 June 2011. The event, unlike the flight to Brussels, is meant to present the prototype to the public and aviation amateurs.

July

• July 3: HB-SIA, piloted by André Borschberg, returns to Switzerland after a two-month European mission.
• July 12: Bertrand Piccard’s first flight piloting HB-SIA.

September

• 6 September: André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard receive the 7th Edition Prize of the SolarWorld Einstein Award.

October

• 3 October: Solar Impulse team awarded the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR) medal.
• 26 October: André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard gave a conference in Zurich to 400 students in the framework of Solar Impulse’s Education Program. 

2010: World’s first solar-powered aircraft to fly through the night

In 2010, HB-SIA moved to its new home from Dübendorf to Payerne. Dübendorf is the location for the construction of the Solar Impulse aircrafts while Payerne is where flight tests happen. In April, test pilot Markus Scherdel took the prototype for its first flight, lasting 87 minutes and up to 1'000 meters altitude. André Borschberg flew the prototype for the first time in May and in June already embarked in an unprecedented feat that also became a world record: a fully solar-powered night flight lasting 26 hours. After this technological success, Solar Impulse undertook two Swiss flights: Payerne-Geneva and Payerne-Zurich.

February

• 3 February: HB-SIA moved from Dübendorf to Payerne. Difficult undertaking given the size of the wings (were unassembled into 3 parts).

March

• 16 March: Testing of pilot equipment to ensure functionality even in emergency situations. Test done in a wind tunnel in Rümlang (ZH).
• 31 March: Bayer MaterialScience becomes an official partner of Solar Impulse.

April

• 7 April: First test flight of HB-SIA during 87 minutes and up to 1000 meters altitude, piloted by test pilot Markus Scherdel.
• 22 April: Second test flight proving controllability and maneuverability of the aircraft.

May

• 8 May: Third test flight and first one with a real cockpit installed.
• 16 May: Fourth test flight to check the modifications and improvements done to HB-SIA.
• 24 May: André Borschberg – CEO of Solar Impulse – flies HB-SIA for the first time during an hour.
• 28 May: First fully solar-powered flight of HB-SIA, piloted by André Borschberg.

June

• 3 June: Night test of cockpit instruments.
• 5 June: Eighth flight test up to 11’000 feet (3’300 meters) with the aim to approach 4’000 meters. Pilot: Markus Scherdel. HB-SIA landed safely in Payerne after 4 hours and 50 minutes of flight, maximum altitude 3’657 meters, and with a set of batteries fuller than at the time of take-off.
• 24 June: Ninth test flight of 14 hours and 7 minutes and an altitude of 8717 meters above sea level. Equipment tested: oxygen supply and limits of the aircraft in flight.

July

• 8 July: World’s first solar-powered airplane to fly through the night. HB-SIA, piloted by André Borschberg, successfully completed the day and night flight lasting 26 hours. Three FAI World Records were awarded.  

September

• 5 September: Solar Impulse receives Swiss Solar Prize in the category “Individuals and Institutions”.
• 21-22 September: First Swiss flights - Payerne to Geneva and Payerne to Zurich.