MADRID (AP) — An experimental solar-powered airplane has left Spain for Egypt in the penultimate leg of its globe-circling voyage.
Organizers said the Solar Impulse 2 flew out of Seville airport Monday and was heading for Cairo.
The flight, piloted by Swiss man Andre Borschberg, is expected to last 50 hours and 30 minutes.
The around-the-world voyage began in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and is due to finish there too.
The plane arrived in Seville on June 23 after an unprecedented three-day flight across the Atlantic.
The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.
ABB is accompanying Solar Impulse and its crew on the plane’s flight around the world. It is providing the fuel cells that store solar energy.
Three ABB engineers have joined the Solar Impulse team where they are contributing expertise and passion. Their work includes improving control systems for ground operations, enhancing the charging electronics for the plane’s battery systems and resolving obstacles that emerge along the route.
The flight has attracted attention around the world from people who see solar power as the fuel of the future, providing a source of clean, renewable energy.
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