The
solar-powered plane is expected to take 12 hours to reach its first pit
stop, in Muscat, Oman, before flying to India, Myanmar, China and on to
the U.S.
The 400-kilometer (250 mile)
first-leg flight is part of a marathon 35,000-kilometer journey, which
is expected to take as long as five months.
The
potentially historic flight had been due to take off on March 1 but its
departure was postponed because of concerns about the weather after
strong dust storms created hazy conditions.
"We have had a lot of sandstorms in Abu
Dhabi, and also a lot of wind, sea breezes, higher than the limit," said
the team's meterologist Luc Truellemans in an interview posted on
Twitter and YouTube.
By
Monday morning, the skies had cleared sufficiently for takeoff, though
there was a slight delay while technical checks were carried out, as
pilot Andre Borschberg explained on Twitter.
Have to wait a few minutes on the runway for technical checks. Typical for experimental airplane such @solarimpulse
But eventually the plane got off the ground, under the watchful eye of
fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard, who will tackle the next part of the
journey.
Monday's journey to Oman will be
relatively short, compared to some of the longer legs, which will take
up to five or six days and nights.
Borschberg and Piccard will spend a total of 500 hours behind the controls over the entire trip, taking it in turns in the tiny 3.8-square meter single-seater cockpit.
Before the takeoff,
Piccard admitted the pair"had "butterflies in the stomach" at the
thought of getting underway after working on the project for so long.
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