The long-awaited attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane has gotten under way from Abu Dhabi Monday morning. Takeoff came around 7 a.m., well before midnight Toronto time. The aircraft is called the Solar Impulse-2. It took off on a trip that may take five months and will see the plane cross the U.S. to land in many places including New York. The pilot at takeoff was Andre Borschberg. He will share the duties with a fellow Swiss, Bertrand Piccard. The plan will stop at various locations around the globe, for rest, to carry out maintenance and to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies. Before taking off, Borschberg told BBC News: “I am confident we have a very special aeroplane, and it will have to be to get us across the big oceans.
