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ASSOCIATED PRESS
The flight from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii will be the Solar Impulse 2’s toughest journey.
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Solar Impulse 2 is leaving Japan for Hawaii on Tuesday, flying
on sun power. (Takuya Inaba/Kyodo News via AP)
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Solar Impulse 2, the solar-powered plane attempting to make the first flight around the world without fuel, is set to take off for Hawaii from Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday morning Hawaii time.
Organizers said Monday the plane, which has been delayed due to weather, will depart for Hawaii at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The flight from Nagoya to Hawaii is the longest leg of the venture, lasting five consecutive days and nights, the Solar Impulse 2 team said in a news release.
Swiss explorers and pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard originally planned for Borschberg to fly the plane from Nanjing, China, to Honolulu earlier this month.
Solar Impulse 2 was in the air for one day and 20 hours before weather conditions forced Borschberg to execute an unexpected landing in Japan.
Since the landing June 1, the crew has been waiting for favorable weather and preparing the plane for the longest leg of the journey.
The flight from Nagoya to Hawaii will be the most difficult leg of the whole round-the-world mission, the Solar Impulse team said in a news release.
Borschberg will pilot Solar Impulse 2 alone across the Pacific.
The plane departed March 9 from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for the planned 25,000-mile trip around the world.
The Solar Impulse 2 team will stream the takeoff from Nagoya at youtube.com/watch?v=M5atoKeYgOM.