Last week, the Solar Impulse team at Moffett was presented with an unusual visit. Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group, British business tycoon and entrepreneur, showed up at Moffett Airfield. Although it might have appeared as a surprise, the parallels between Solar Impulse and Richard are all too evident for it to be a simple coincidence.

Richard and Bertrand have a relationship that stretches back to their ballooning days. In fact, Richard, with Per Lindstrand, were the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon in 1991. Seven years later, in 1999, Bertrand, with Brian Jones, were the first to circumnavigate the globe beating Richard, Linstrand and Fossett’s similar attempt in 1998. “I doff my cap to him” Richard said elegantly when asked about the potential rivalry this might have caused.

Richard was extremely enthusiastic and impressed at the sight of Solar Impulse, to the point that he jokingly added, "I just need to find a way to smuggle that plane out in my pocket!” Richard is also looking at ways to harness solar power by using it to tow aircraft onto the runway in the near future.

One could feel the camaraderie between André, Bertrand and Richard as the pilots showed off their engineering jewel to the Englishman. He even recognized, in HB-SIA’s sleek silhouette, a great communication tool – a message carrier, a “weapon” to showcase the potential of clean techs and innovation – values Richard also shares.

Richard didn’t hesitate to become Solar Impulse’s Patron and, as he was leaving for another engagement in his busy schedule, he gave big thumbs up with his trademark smile “I always set myself challenges that might seem impossible…” Wait, haven’t I heard that somewhere already? André? Bertrand? I think we found our project’s new soul mate! 

Today, Monday April 22nd, our two pilots, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard successfully completed technical flights 5 and 6. There couldn't be a better way to celebrate Earth Day: flying an entirely solar-powered airplane while the first rays of sunlight shine over the Bay.

It’s been an enriching and exciting week here at Moffett Airfield and I’m still getting over the adrenaline rush. I was simply amazed by the level of enthusiasm and positive remarks from people of all backgrounds and ages. 

There were school and university visits, Partner events as well as public figures such as Congressman M. Honda, Google’s CEO Larry Page, National Co-Chair for Technology for President Obama (T4O), Shelly Kapoor Collins, the Consul General of Switzerland in San Francisco, Julius Anderegg and Google’s CMO Lorraine Twohill. We also had a chance to take part in an inspiring discussion at the Google Tech Talks and organized a live video conference between Stanford University and Columbia University where the pilots answered students’ questions – connecting west and east coast academia by means of a solar airplane.

I especially enjoyed the Open House the Solar Impulse team worked so hard at organizing. One thousand people came through Hangar 2 to admire HB-SIA and assist to surprise speeches given by our pilots André and Bertrand. Many people were well read on the subject and had incredibly poignant questions, reminding me how truly inspiring the project is.

But most of all, what I really take away from this entire hubbub, is the distinct sparkle I see in people’s eyes when they first come face-to-face with Solar Impulse, no matter what generation: I see the sparkle of a clean generation.  

The names of Silicon Valley companies reverberate like legends across the globe. I can’t even begin to tell you how interesting our days have been here so far. André and I visited the Tesla factory with Elon Musk, discovered PayPal and eBay’s strategies with their CEOs and welcomed Larry Page at Moffett Airfield to see Solar Impulse. During all these encounters, it was evident that we were surrounded by people passionate about innovation, fearless about breaking away from the paradigm and instigators of the technological revolution. There is no need to convince; it suffices to be carried away by the imagination.

Larry Page came to see the airplane with Google’s the new “glasses-camera-recorder-computer” which of course we tried on immediately… while waiting to get a pair of our own. His first words: “What a journey you’ve made since you spoke about your project at the Davos Forum!” – and now that the verb “to google” has entered everyday speech, we had the chance to exchange compliments. Without even having to talk about Google’s driverless cars that are circulating on the streets in this region, guided by a revolving radar on the roof. This technology will soon enable vehicles to circulate without a driver, but I promise you that André and I will not be renouncing to the pilot’s seat anytime soon…