Solar-plane pilots say trip was also test of human endurance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. The two Swiss pilots, Berny Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns flying the plane around-the-world since March 2015. Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered airplane landed in Mountain View, Saturday night following a 62-hour, from Hawaii. The plane’s wings, stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747

> Re-fueling and re-supplying the airplane were the tricky parts. Twice daily, the plane was flown just above a speeding truck from which a hose was hoisted up to pump 95 gallons of avgas into the belly tank

Holy moley, Batman! I can't even imagine that! I'd like to have seen how that was done.

On the shoulders of a giant.

Some other Steve Fossett solo flight facts:

Fossett was the first to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean, flying from Seoul, South Korea, to Mendham, Saskatchewan, in 1995.
He was the first to cross the African continent in a balloon, in 1997.
He was the first to cross the European continent in a balloon, in 1998.
He was the first to cross the South Atlantic and the Indian oceans, in 1998.

"62 hours between and Hawaii and here, with no heat or air conditioning."

That's the current problem with electric vehicles (so to speak). Once the vehicle itself is sufficiently efficient to perform, the energy to keep the occupants comfortable, exceeds the propulsion need.

I always wonder about the physical, excretory issues of these endurance flights.

Specifically, is there a little hole in the bottom of the plane where they dump their poop? I’d think they would want to get rid of that weight if at all possible.

From the child who dreamed about space while rubbing shoulders with the Cape Kennedy astronauts, to the initiator of the first trip around the world in a balloon and of the Solar Impulse project, Bertrand Piccard has always combined science and adventure to explore the human soul. By following that trace in the sky, he became a doctor, a psychiatrist and then a hypno-therapist, and turned his efforts towards research, to find out what makes life meaningful. A mixture of narration, personal experience and reflection, this book illustrates the ideas and thoughts which turned this ‘scientist-adventurer’ into one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. Aware of the fact that his readers are not getting ready for a flight in a balloon, but rather trying to find in his quest a source of inspiration for their personal and professional lives, he uses his aerial experiences to develop his concept of the philosophy of life, of human behavior, and of how to deal with stress and crisis situations. This lavishly illustrated, large-format book, with original layout, is a philosophical study of the author’s flying experiences that draws far-reaching reflections on the psychology of life

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