Pilot Bertrand Piccard intends to take his Solar Impulse into the green record books by flying day and night from Moffet AB in Mountain View, California to JFK Airport in NY from May-July 2013. He will be flying on 12,000 solar cells in a massive array that forms the long wing of the aircraft that powers 4x 10 hp motors. Slung below is a pod-shaped glider fuselage in which Piccard will sit alone in cold temps and on a port-a-potty! He could go non-stop, but due to human needs will make 4 stops along the way (some 10 day lay-overs). The aircraft weighs over 3000 lbs (less than a small car) and will cruise at 35 mph at 27,000 ft. If all goes well, Piccard will attempt to circumnavigate the globe with the aircraft in 2015 along with co-pilot Andre Borschberg. Only 1 pilot can fly at a time, so they will alternate. The aircraft fortunately features an auto-pilot so that each will be able to relax, sleep, or meditate over the vast distance. Piccard and Borschberg compare themselves to the Wright Brothers in 1903, fully expecting that in the future large 200-passenger carrying Solar Airliners will fill the skies…

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