"Without fuel, you can fly longer"! Two pilots, both innovators and pioneers, inspire Solar aviation technology for clean future

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"Now you can fly longer with no fuel than you can with fuel. So, what Andre has done is not only a historic first for aviation, it's a historic first for renewable energies. And this is why we are doing this project." The Swiss team is using the various stopovers on its round-the-world journey to carry a campaigning message to local people on the topic of clean technologies. The vehicle is covered in 17,000 photovoltaic cells. These either power the vehicle's electric motors directly, or charge its lithium-ion batteries, which sustain the plane during the night hours. Mr Piccard told reporters at Kalaeloa: "Andre's flight was longer than all the other single-seater flights that had fuel. That's an incredible message.

"Now you can fly longer with no fuel than you can with fuel. So, what Andre has done is not only a historic first for aviation, it's a historic first for renewable energies. And this is why we are doing this project."

USA TODAY July 3, 2015 - Solar Impulse 2 touches down in Hawaii after record-breaking flight, successfully completing a world record-setting 4,000 mile solar powered flight. The record-setting flight of the sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii on Friday after the longest, most dangerous leg of its around-the-world journey, the world's longest solar-powered flight both by time and distance, also set the record for longest solo flight by time. "Just landed in #Hawaii with @solarimpulse! For @bertrandpiccard and I, it's a dream coming true," pilot André Borschberg upon his successful landing. The flight from Japan to Hawaii was the eighth of 13 legs.

The Huffington Post July 3, 2015 - A 4,000-mile journey without stops or fossil fuel The aircraft has a maximum speed of 90 mph and only averaged around 40 mph during the flight, which means the journey took a daunting 117 hours and 52 seconds -- or nearly five days. The pilot for this leg of the flight, André Borschberg, got his sleep in 20-minute naps. By comparison, a Boeing 777, with a top speed of around 600 mph, can make the same trip in about 8.5 hours.

The Solar Impulse 2 broke a number of records with its latest flight, including longest distance for solar-powered flight, longest duration for solar-powered flight, and longest non-stop solo-pilot flight of any kind (made possible because the plane doesn't need to stop for refueling).

BBC 3 July 2015 - the Swiss pilot told the BBC that he did not feel that tired: "Interestingly, not really. "I am also astonished. We got so much support during the flight from so many people; it gave me so much energy." Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii. Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the vehicle gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time (15:55 GMT; 16:55 BST). The distance covered and the time spent in the air - 118 hours - are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. Mr Borschberg's time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006.

Despite being in the cockpit for so long, the Swiss pilot told the BBC that he did not feel that tired: "Interestingly, not really.

"I am also astonished. We got so much support during the flight from so many people; it gave me so much energy."

2010: Solar powered 1st nonstop 26hr night flight, longest distance, highest altitude: Swiss Solar Impulse marks Solar Aviation Era

2009: Solar plane, 1st of its kind, Airbus-sized, around the world without fuel & with zero emissions: prototype runway debut

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Image Courtesy Solar IMPULSE, BBC