Solar Impulse Grounded in Japan After Record-Breaking Flight

We have had cause to write about the ground-breaking Solar Impulse round-the-world flight here before, as Omega are of course one of the project’s notable contributors and supporters. The project has, however, encountered issues with its most challenging leg so far, and as of yesterday finds itself unexpectedly grounded in Japan.

For those who may not have been following this fascinating flight attempt, the Solar Impulse 2 was built to attempt a circumnavigation of the world powered only by the energy of the sun. The experimental craft carries 17,000 solar cells and took off from Abu Dhabi in March, successfully completing six legs of the planned journey before reaching Nanjing in China at the end of April.

From there, the planned flight was to take the Solar Impulse 2 across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii, a journey of 8,200km which was always expected to be the most challenging part of the journey. The project had waited for over a month for suitable weather conditions, as it needed both favourable winds and clear skies during the day to power the night-time flight. Meteorologists on the team had identified a potential weather window, and the flight set off at 18:39 GMT on Saturday the 30^th May.

However, a worsening weather front close to Hawaii caused concern. As the Solar Impulse was just hours away from the point of no return – where it would have been too far from land to turn back and a problem may have resulted in pilot Andre Borschberg being forced to bail out into the ocean – the plane was put into a holding pattern while conditions were assessed. Borschberg was then advised to return to land at Nagoya Airfield in Japan. The team are now assessing weather conditions and waiting for better conditions in order to continue.

Whilst this diversion raises issues for the timing of the continued flight, it is in fact a great success for the project. When Borschberg landed the Solar Impulse 2 at 14:49 GMT on the 1^st June, he had spent an astonishing 44 hours and 11 minutes in flight, travelling over 3,265km – making this the longest solar-powered flight ever in both distance and duration. Of course, a flight of such duration requires unique measures – and not merely to maintain the pilot’s hygiene!

The Solar Impulse is a solo plane, which means that during his extended flight Borschberg had to sleep in the air. However, he would also need to be able to respond should anything occur during his power-nap, and would need to remain alert during more difficult sections of the flight.

This is one of the areas in which Omega were able to assist. Alongside equipping Borschberg with the limited edition Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 watch, seen in the image above and vital for keeping track of time in the sky, Omega provided a range of other personal gadgetry to ensure the pilot’s alertness at the right times. The sleeves of the pilot’s suit are equipped with cuffs, resembling those used by doctors to measure blood pressure, which vibrate in response to critical flight information. This vibration is strong enough to wake the pilot in order to respond quickly.

In addition, the Omega Buzz system was developed to ensure continued alertness during critical periods. When set by the pilot, it emits a loud buzz of between 90 and 100 decibels (approximately as loud as a jackhammer) every twenty minutes, which continues until a button is pressed to turn the sound off and reset the twenty minute countdown, thus ensuring that the pilot remains awake during these vital flight segments.

The Omega Buzz system, whilst necessary for the pilot, would of course be rather undesirable for the general public – unlike the Omega Speedmaster Skywalker watches inspired by the project! If you are inspired by this piece of history in the making, or if you are interested in any of the other excellent Omega watches in our collection, please contact the Banks Lyon team on 01524 38 48 58 for further information.

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