There, I had the tremendous honor to announce to the world that the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize - Outstanding Achievement Award was given to the Solar Impulse team led by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.

A few days later, the LEAP team made an exciting trip out to Payerne to visit Solar Impulse. Karen Cecilia hosted LEAP staff and students on a tour of the facility and an invigorating conversation about electric flight, education and future collaborations. Seeing the huge size of the HB SIA in person stunned our group. It would take a strong arm to throw a baseball from one wingtip to the other What an extraordinary vision has come to fruition at the hands of this determined team!

We believe that the flights of Solar Impulse compare with my grandfather's flights in the Spirit of St. Louis, and the flights of SpaceshipOne, in that each shifted public perception of the potential of their respective industries. These efforts had their own extraordinary challenges and evolved in different ways, but they each took a nascent industry and moved it into mainstream consciousness. This is a critical step toward reaching a tipping point that will move the aviation industry into the future. From a spectacular original vision to assembling a world class team to the execution of the test flight program to the educational outreach, Solar Impulse has helped to bring the electric aircraft industry to its tipping point.

Congratulations to the entire team at Solar Impulse for their outstanding achievement in the field of electric flight!