© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Solar Plane To Depart St. Louis For Cincinnati Friday Morning

A solar powered airplane that landed in St. Louis last Tuesday is scheduled to depart early tomorrow morning [Friday].

This will be the 4th leg of the aircraft’s cross-continental flight.

Solar Impulse was originally scheduled to fly directly from St. Louis to Washington DC. But because of strong winds the plane will make an additional stop in Cincinnati to allow the team to rest and switch pilots.

The plane’s 12,000 solar cells power it by day while recharging batteries that allow it to fly at night.

The zero fuel aircraft began its journey in California on May 3rd and is expected to continue to its final destination in New York following a ten day stop in the nation’s capital.

Solar Impulse pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, will do a live video chat session from the air and ground a couple hours after take-off. The chat will last for 30 minutes and will use Google's new video chat service, Hang-Out. Though an exact time has not been established for the chat, it will take place here.

Find updates and additional information about the Solar Impulse plane and upcoming projects here.

Follow Sarah Skiöld-Hanlin on Twitter@Skihan