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3/30/15

Aircraft Industry: Solar Impulse plane lands in China - by Jonathan Amos

The vehicle, with Bertrand Piccard at the controls, touched down in Chongqing in China just after 17:30 GMT.

It had left Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma) some 20 hours previously.

The intention had been to make the briefest of stops in Chongqing before pushing on to Nanjing in the east of the country, but that strategy has been abandoned because of weather concerns.

The team will now lay over in southwest China until a good window opens up on the east coast at some point during the coming days.

Getting to the city of Nanjing would set up Solar Impulse to make its first big ocean crossing - a five-day, five-night flight to Hawaii.

Leg five proved to be a tough one for Bertrand Piccard. He had to cover a distance of 1,375km, and faced some difficult winds as he approached Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. Local controllers also asked the Swiss pilot to delay his arrival for a short while because of the pressure of commercial traffic.
 
Read more: Solar Impulse plane lands in China - BBC News

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