Lambert Airport Chosen as Touchdown for Historic Solar Impulse Flight

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is the final airport chosen for a stopover during the upcoming cross country flight of the Solar Impulse, the first aircraft capable of flying 24 hours day and night using solar energy as power.

The Solar Impulse Across America flight began in San Francisco’s Moffett Field. Lambert will be the Midwest US stop with a tentative arrival around the end of May, according to a press release.

The flight plan also includes stops at Phoenix Sky Harbor, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington DC-Dulles and New York’s JFK. Solar Impulse said not one drop of fuel will be used along the way.

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Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg founded Solar Impulse. They will take turns flying the plane.

"For Solar Impulse the choice of St. Louis is an obvious one: it is a homage to all the pioneers, starting from Charles Lindbergh, who have contributed to the development of aviation," Piccard and Borschberg said in a joint statement.  

Solar Impulse is a prototype carbon fiber airplane with a wingspan of a jumbo jet, 208 feet; and the weight of a small car, 3,500 pounds. Twelve-thousand solar cells  will power the plane. They are built into its wings, which provide power to four electric motors. The solar cells will recharge the aircraft’s lithium batteries during the day flight. This allows the plane to continue flying at night.                         

An old 246,000 sq. ft. building that was once a McDonnell Douglas facility will be used to store the plane that has a 208 foot wingspan.

Would you board a a solar powered airplane for travel?