Solar Impulse 2 starts non-stop 90-hour Atlantic crossing

Solar Impulse 2 - the aircraft trying to fly around the world using only the power of the sun - has set off from New York's JFK airport as it embarked on the transatlantic leg of its record-breaking flight.

The plane, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, is expected to take about 90 hours to cross the Atlantic Ocean before it lands at Spain's Seville airport, the Daily Mail reports.

“It's my first time taking off from JFK,” Mr Piccard said over a live feed from the aircraft as he headed into the night sky just after 02:30 local time (06:30 GMT).

Mr Piccard is piloting the plane on the 15th leg of its east to west journey around the world that began March 9, 2015 in Abu Dhabi.


Already the aircraft has crossed Asia, the Pacific and the United States using the sun as its only source of power.

The plane had been due to take off from New York early on Sunday but was delayed due to concerns over the weather.

Prince Albert of Monaco, a patron of the project, gave the flight the go-ahead from its mission control center in Monaco, telling Mr Piccard 'you are released to proceed.' 

“If you consider a long flight like this over the Atlantic Ocean, you have to keep in mind that the weather needs to be predicted in advance (approximately 5 days),' the Solar Impulse blog says. 

“As we all know, weather is difficult to anticipate and therefore we will have to adapt to all challenges as they arise.”