Emirati Solar Impulse team member: Waiting for fair weather to cross Pacific

NAGOYA // Let me start by wishing everyone a blessed holy month.

The team was excited after spending two months in China and everyone was anxious about the next stage, which we called “the moment of truth”, where Andre would attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean.

Weather conditions were, however, not always in our favour.

Finally, after the long wait, we got the green light to take off to Hawaii on May 31, before dawn.

After a few hours of flying, things started to change.

The cold front was too dangerous to cross, so we decided to divert and land in Nagoya Airfield, also known as Komaki Airport, to wait for better weather conditions before continuing.

The pilot and the aircraft were safe – and safety is the priority of this project.

On the bright side, the plane demonstrated its ability by flying day and night for 44 consecutive hours. This is a record-breaking feat for a solar-powered plane in duration and distance.

On June 2, while the team was mounting the mobile hangar to protect the plane, there were gusts of wind that caused minor damage to its wing.

The damage was really minor and we didn’t see it being a major issue.

During our time in Nagoya, the engineers returned the aircraft to its initial condition – ready to embark again into the unknown of the Pacific and move forward with this journey of exploration and discovery.

The airport in Nagoya was very accommodating, as there are a few criteria that include location, flexibility to accommodate our experimental plane, and goodwill to stop normal operations for our landing. We are very grateful to the authorities.

Now we are waiting for favourable weather to commence on the eighth leg to Hawaii.

Please follow Hasan’s journey on Instagram and Twitter @HasanRTW

Hasan Al Redaini, 25, works for group communications at Mubadala. He is travelling with the Solar Impulse team to assist in solar-energy lectures and demonstrations in each of the 12 countries the team is visiting.

newsdesk@thenational.ae