Solar Impulse, the 100% solar powered airplane, is closing in on New York City as it completes its historic journey across the United States. The aircraft started its journey at NASA’s Moffett Airfield at the heart of Silicon Valley, stopping at Phoenix (AZ), Dallas (TX), St. Louis (MO) and Washington D.C. on the way to New York’s JFK Airport. This flight across the United States is in preparation for a global crossing next year, as lessons learned now will be applied to an upgraded version of the aircraft.
Solar Impulse took off from Washington D.C’s Dulles Airport (IAD) last night at 4:46am, and is scheduled to touch down at JFK at about 2am Sunday. Along the way, there will be fly-bys of major landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty at 11pm. The aircraft should be easy to spot, as it has a top speed of only 45 MPH.
In the meantime, you can track the position of the aircraft on the Solar Impulse website, and watch a live stream from inside the flight deck, which is embedded below. We will be covering the event live on Twitter as well. Additionally, you can sign up to see Solar Impulse at JFK next week on Saturday or Sunday.
