The new itinerary of Solar Impulse’s 2013 Across America  is now official!

• Moffett Airfield (Mountain View, CA)
• Sky Harbor International Airport (Phoenix, AZ) 
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Dallas, TX) 
• Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (St. Louis, MO)
• Dulles International Airport (Washington D.C.) 
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York City)

We’ve all been touched by the incredible welcome the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and different airport authorities have given us in the United States. In fact, before we started organizing the mission, we were afraid we wouldn’t find airports ready to welcome our unique aircraft. To our surprise, it was exactly the opposite! This has obliged us to better evaluate our needs and decide accordingly.

The most difficult choice was our third stopover, which was torn between St. Louis (MO), Atlanta (GA) and Nashville (TN). For various reasons, including one very historical one, St. Louis was elected as the official third stopover. The Spirit of St. Louis, piloted by Charles Lindbergh, was the first aircraft to successfully undertake the crossing of the Atlantic in 1927. The 3,600 mile flight (5’800 km) started from Roosevelt Field on New York’s Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris. Although the aircraft was built in San Diego, it got its name in honor of the St. Louis Raquette Club - who financed the construction of the aircraft - and because it was Lindbergh’s residence at the time.  

It looks like the next possible date for the kick-off of the 2013 Across America mission could be this Friday, May 3rd! Weather conditions permitting, the flight would take off from Moffett Airfield to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (AZ). It will be an early departure, most likely before 6 am local time (UTC-7) with a landing after midnight local Phoenix time (UTC-7).

Keep you update with that new challenge for Solar Impulse visiting the website: www.solarimpulse.com

Here below wonderful video of Solar Impulse over the San Francisco bay for the Across America 2013 itinerary:

Solar Impulse is an innovative project leveraging technological prowess and the spirit of adventure by means of an airplane. It was launched in 2003 by a visionary and an entrepreneur, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, challenging common certitudes and making room for a glimpse into a more sustainable future.

The project’s raison d’être is to spread a message by flying in the skies powered solely by solar energy. Having completed its first26-hour flight through the night in 2010 and the world’s first intercontinental flight connecting Europe to Africa in 2012, Solar Impulse’s HB-SIA prototype is eager to participate in a new challenge: the celebrated coast-to-coast crossing of the United States, San Francisco to Washington D.C. and New York City. Originally unplanned, the perfect opportunity for this new adventure emerged after the decision to rebuild Solar Impulse’s second generation aircraft’s wing spar.

This year’s Across America mission is scheduled to kick-off starting May 1st, flying from San Francisco to the nation’s Capital and the Big Apple, with 2-3 stopovers on the way. The project’s ultimate goal is to fly around the world in 2015 with the second prototype aircraft, HB-SIB. Eleven percent larger, HB-SIB is designed to cross Oceans and more humid climates from east to west in the northern hemisphere.

To have a look about the Mission Across America, i send you to the Solar Impulse website:
Solar Impulse website