The Solar Impulse – 2 aircraft, which is expected to arrive in India today, has taken off from Muscat, Oman , on its first sea crossing.
It is expected to land in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It took off at 6.35 a.m. local time.
Pilot Bertrand Piccard will fly the zero – fuel airplane across 1465km for an estimated time of 16 hours.
Piccard is well known for his ballooning exploits. Along with Brian Jones, he completed the first non – stop circumnavigation of the world in 1999, using the Breitling Orbiter 3 Balloon.
According to the BBC, the plane is stop off at various locations around the globe, to rest and to carry out maintenance, and also to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies.
Piccard will share pilot duties with fellow Swiss, Andre Borschbeng.
A trained engineer and former airforce3 pilot, he built a career as an entrepreneur in internet technologies. (ANI)