After a 12 hour flight the solar aircraft HB-SIA at last appeared above the airfield in Payerne to prepare for an emotional homecoming. Hundreds of cars arrived throughout the afternoon spilling out crowds of people that had come to watch HB-SIA land. People held their breath as they watched the solar plane to and fro slowly getting lower and lower in the sky.

HB-SIA at last turned towards the runway for the final approach. André Borschberg cut the external engines and the plane glided in silently to land delicately to a standing ovation from the public that was gathered next to the Solar Impulse hangar.

The aircraft touched down at 19:42 after a 12 hour 31 minute flight. This final voyage is the cherry on the cake of a European flight campaign that has taken the team to Brussels and then Paris.

Happy, but tired, André Borschberg punched the air and saluted the team and the spectators before stepping onto terra firma. “This flight is the climax of a fantastic campaign. I don’t think I have yet realised the scale of what we have achieved, although the number of people here illustrates the interest that Solar Impulse has raised. This success belongs to every single team member. It is a team success.”

Bertrand Piccard stepped forward to greet his friend on the tarmac, he too is overwhelmed by the success of the campaign. “When we thought about doing European flights, we never imagined such a success. The plane is fantastic and the technical team has done an amazing job. Thanks to this we have been able to communicate our message and significantly raise the profile of our project. Today I am especially happy because the team worked together perfectly, they were in sync and very cohesive. These people make a brilliant team.” 

The Solar Impulse team has turned a page today. The second aircraft, the HB-SIB, is in build and new projects are ahead, but more about that another time… Right now, it is time for some well-earned team celebrations. So a huge thank you to all those that have followed our European campaign – all 3,600,000 of you unique visitors to the Solar Impulse website since the beginning of May and a thank you also to those that have watched 3,670,000 videos online! See you soon for new adventures!

Source and photo: Solar Impulse