Two Swiss pilots attempting to fly around the world only using solar power

THESE two men are on a mission, and it’s not an easy one. tThey’re trying to be the first people to fly around the world in a very particular type of plane.

Men attempt daring round-the-world flight

TWO Swiss pilots are set to embark on a mission to become the first men to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane.

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will alternate piloting duties of the single-seater aircraft known as the Solar Impulse 2.

Leaving from Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, the plane will head east for the 35,000km journey, which is expected to take five months to complete.

Broken down into 12 legs, the pilots are expected to suffer 250 hours each inside the cockpit, which has no oxygen or temperature control.

The pilot’s seat triples as bed, chair and toilet.

Due to the constant attention needed to operate the aircraft, Piccard and Borschberg will have to survive on 20-minute naps every two to four hours.

Having circumnavigated the globe non-stop by balloon in 1999, Piccard is no stranger to the enduring journey.

In order to prepare for the journey he has been teaching Borschberg a number of techniques for self-hypnosis and meditation in order to sustain concentration.

“You have plenty of time and the only way to cope with this duration is to be in the present moment,” Borschberg told The Guardian.

“If you start thinking about how many hours left until you get to the destination, you get crazy. So the only way is to be present.

“In some ways, it’s almost a spiritual experience that we are going through.”

The pilots have also been practising yoga for the discomfort that comes from riding in a cockpit only slightly larger than a family car.

The plane is lined with 17,000 solar panels.

The aircraft will be powered by 17,000 solar panels located on its wings and excess energy will be stored in lithium batteries to ensure the plane can fly at night, which will be important for the

gruelling flights across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“I am confident we have a very special aeroplane, and it will have to be to get us across the big oceans,” Borschberg told BBC News.

“We may have to fly for five days and five nights to do that, and it will be a challenge.

“But we have the next two months, as we fly the legs to China, to train and prepare ourselves.”

The pilots will be offering live coverage of the journey on the Solar Pulse website.

The plane will leave from Abu Dhabi.