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Solar plane to take off in New York

The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 aircraft will soon leave New York bound for Seville in Spain with the journey expected to take 90 hours.

The Solar Impulse 2 shortly before landing at JFK Airport in New York
The Solar Impulse 2 will soon leave New York bound for Spain with the journey set to take 90 hours. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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The Solar Impulse 2 will soon take off on the next leg of its attempt to circumnavigate the world - a flight across the Atlantic Ocean expected to take 90 hours.

The project announced on its website the single-seat aircraft will depart from New York's JFK Airport at 2am (local time) on Monday and fly to Seville in Spain.

"Another multiple-day flight is soon on its way - this time, over the Atlantic Ocean," the project said.

An estimated arrival time was not provided, but the blog post said the flight would take approximately 90 hours, making the expected arrival in the early hours of Friday.

Bertrand Piccard will be the pilot of the flight, which the project says will be the first transatlantic solar and electric crossing with zero fuel and zero emissions.

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It will be the 15th leg of the round-the-world flight, which started in March 2015.

The plane has a 72 metre wingspan and began with flights over India and China before stopping in Hawaii for nine months due to battery damage.

It has been piloted in turns by Piccard and Andre Borschberg, both Swiss.

The project to promote fuel-free flight and clean-energy technology was co-founded by the Swiss aviators.


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