Solar Plane Ready to Leave Japan for Hawaii

A solar-powered plane delayed by weather and repair work is ready to resume its around-the-world journey, set to leave central Japan
Solar Plane Ready to Leave Japan for Hawaii
Pilots Andre Boschberg (R), and Bertrant Piccard talk after Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered airplane, finished up the first day of an historic round-the-world journey that began in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on March 09, 2015 in Muscat, Oman. (Jean Revillard via Getty Images)
The Associated Press
6/23/2015
Updated:
6/23/2015

NAGOYA, Japan—A solar-powered plane delayed by weather and repair work is ready to resume its around-the-world journey, set to leave central Japan for Hawaii if conditions permit.

Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg is flying the plane solo during the roughly five-day trip beginning early Wednesday. He plans to take short naps, do yoga and meditate to endure the lack of sleep.

The airplane carries no fuel, so project engineers are using simulations to determine when it is safe to fly. The first Pacific leg is the riskiest because there is no place to land.

Borschberg had been waiting for a seasonal weather front stretching from Alaska to Taiwan to clear enough for him to leave the central Japanese city of Nagoya.