Solar Impulse 2 takes off on third leg of US crossing

The solar-powered plane is en-route to Ohio in what is expected to be a 18-hour flight.

Solar Impulse prepares to take off from Tulsa International Airport on Saturday. EPA
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ABU DHABI // Solar Impulse 2 took off from Oklahoma heading for Ohio on the third leg of its journey across the United States on Saturday afternoon.

The solar-powered plane left Tulsa International Airport heading for Dayton International Airport.

“Off to #Dayton! 18 hours without a drop of fuel. And they said it would be impossible... Look at #solarimpulse now,” Swiss pilot André Borschberg tweeted before departing.

“Eager to reach #Dayton, the city of the Wright Brothers. They achieved the first motorised flight ever.”

Storms in Oklahoma had the solar airplane grounded since it landed in Tulsa from Phoenix, Arizona, on May 13.

“The mission engineers in Monaco have found a clear flight path, giving way for an 18-hour flight to reach the very city where the Wright Brothers completed the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered aircraft,” read a post on Solar Impulse’s website. “The objective is still to reach New York as soon as possible.”

The Masdar-sponsored project began last year when it took off from Abu Dhabi on a mission to complete the first round-the-world flight powered only by the sun.

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