The world’s first solar powered aircraft Solar Impulse-2 has delayed its departure from Ahmedabad due to fog concerns. The crew made the announcement on their official Facebook page. Now, the takeoff from Ahmedabad to Varanasi has been postponed to March 18. The main reason for the extension of the stopover is the overall weather conditions of the city as well as en route, as North India had been witnessing disturbed weather conditions during last week-end.
Before take-off, the crew does not only consider local weather but also the overall weather conditions en-route to Varanasi. This is the second time that bad weather has forced them to postpone their take off. The aircraft landed in Ahmedabad on March 10 and was supposed to take off on March 15 as per its flight schedule. Due to sporadic rain and hailstorm in the city, the takeoff was delayed till March 17. Now, cloudy weather has once again postponed the departure until March 18. It has to be remembered that unlike normal aero-plane, Solar Impulse-2 is not fuel driven, instead it is solar powered & hence it has to double check weather conditions prior to take-off.
From Varanasi, Solar Impulse-2 will depart for Mandalay in Myanmar & then to Chongqing and Nanjing in China. Furthermore, as per the flight schedule of the aircraft, it will fly to the United States.
