Solar Impulse arrives in Hawaii

KAPOLEI: The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft completed an historic flight in its quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel, touching down gracefully in Hawaii on Friday after the most arduous leg of its journey.

The sun-powered plane, piloted by veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg, took five days to make the historic voyage from Japan to Hawaii and landed shortly after dawn at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu.
“Just landed in #Hawaii with @solarimpulse! For @bertrandpiccard and I, it’s a dream coming true,” Borschberg tweeted triumphantly upon after completing the most dangerous leg of the around-the-world journey.
Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard have been alternating the long solo flights aboard the plane. The flight from Japan to Hawaii was the eighth of 13 legs.
His colleague and tag-team copilot on the venture, Piccard expressed elation over the arrival of aircraft and pilot.
“Difficult to believe what I see: #Si2 in Hawaii! But I never had doubts that @andreborschberg could make it!” he wrote on Twitter.
“This flight to Hawaii is not only an aviation historic first, but also a historic first for energy and cleantechs,” wrote Piccard.
The experimental plane touched down in Hawaii shortly after dawn — a little after 1600 GMT — amid cheers and applause from the ground crew. Borschberg, all smiles, emerged a short time time later from the cockpit.