REVOLUTIONARY INFLATABLE HANGAR UPON ARRIVAL AT LAMBER-ST. LOUISS

Solar Impulse deploys revolutionary inflatable hangar upon arrival at Lambert-St. Louis St. Louis, a Symbolic Stopover and Homage to Aviation Pioneers

St. Louis (MO) USA, June 04, 2013 - Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane landed in Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on Tuesday, June 4th. The completion of the third leg of the 2013 Across America mission also inaugurates the use of the inflatable mobile hangar, deployed for the first time during a mission. Landing in St. Louis brings Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, a step closer to accomplishing the coast-to-coast crossing of the USA, with New York City as final destination. This was Bertrand Piccard's longest flight in the single-seat cockpit to date. The flight originated Monday, June 3rd from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport when Piccard took off at 04:06 a.m. CDT (Texas time). After 21 hours and 21 minutes, he landed the Solar Impulse prototype at 01:28 a.m. CDT Tuesday, June 4th at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. While Solar Impulse was on its way from Dallas to St. Louis, the rest of the Solar Impulse team had only a few hours to deploy the inflatable mobile hangar where the aircraft will be housed upon landing. Operating in real time mission conditions was a first for the project and an important milestone. The revolutionary structure has been conceived and designed by Solar Impulse for the around-the-world mission in 2015, but will now provide a shelter after last weekend's storm that severely damaged the hangar reserved for Solar Impulse at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. "We brought the inflatable hangar to the USA for testing purposes and in fact it allowed the mission to stay on schedule. This exercise is now a proof of concept: rather than taking the airplane to a hangar, we have taken the hangar to the airplane," said André Borschberg, Co-founder, CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse. The choice of St. Louis as the Solar Impulse Midwest stop was no coincidence. The city has played a significant role in the history of U.S. aviation back in the days when Charles Lindbergh was a chief pilot for the Chicago to St. Louis U.S. Mail Route. The city's business leaders, including the namesake of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Albert Bond Lambert, supported Lindbergh in his bid to make the first trans-Atlantic flight between New York and Paris in 1927 in the "Spirit of St. Louis." "It was particularly important for me to come to St. Louis because I was so inspired when I met Charles Lindbergh at Cape Canaveral during a launch of the Apollo when I was eleven years old. I'm truly moved to be able to land here today with Solar Impulse," said Bertrand Piccard, Initiator, Chairman and pilot of Solar Impulse shortly after landing. Solar Impulse wants to inspire everyone to become pioneers in their everyday lives. Its latest initiative, Clean Generation, is creating a global movement to promote the use of clean technologies and is already rallying thousands of people to support the adoption of sustainable energy solutions. The names of those who join this movement are carried on a USB key and transported in the cockpit across America as virtual passengers. Additionally, a flag displaying the Clean Generation slogan are carried by the pilots and handed over to civic leaders at each stop. The first two flags were handed over to the Governor of Arizona and Texas Secretary of State. All those interested in being part of this movement can sign up here: http://www.solarimpulse.com/join_us/. After St. Louis, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will continue to alternately pilot the solar airplane to reach Washington, D.C. and New York. Public Viewing and Visits The inflatable structure is still a prototype and doesn't permit visitors inside yet. To allow public visits and those corporations wishing to hold events during its stay in the Midwest stopover, Solar Impulse also decided to build a tent. The first public viewing is scheduled on Thursday 4 June from 9.00 am – 12.00 pm and a 2nd second occasion will be offered on Friday 9.00am – 1pm. Register here for Thursday and here for Friday. Depending on the length of stay in St Louis, which is weather dependent, additional viewings may be scheduled. Flight Report: Dallas/Fort Worth – Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Pilot: Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman Take-off time: June 03, 2013 04:06 AM CDT (UTC-5) Time of landing: June 04, 2013 01:28 AM CDT (UTC-5) Flight duration: 21h21 min Average ground speed: 49 km/h (26,3 kt) Highest altitude reached: 7'315 m (24'000 feet) Flight Distance: 1'040 km (~562 NM) Press Corner High-def pictures, press releases, background documents, HD footage of the flight can be downloaded at the following address:http://press.solarimpulse.com User: solar-impulse Password: zerofuelairplane-2012 The "Across America" mission at a glance: Early May 2013: First leg San Francisco/Moffett Airfield – Phoenix/Sky Harbor Mid May 2013: Second leg Phoenix/Sky Harbor – Dallas/Fort Worth Early June 2013: Third leg Dallas/Fort Worth – St. Louis/Lambert Airport Early to Mid-June 2013: Fourth leg St. Louis/Lambert Airport – Washington DC/Dulles Early July 2013: Fifth and last leg Washington DC/Dulles – New York/JFK Press contacts: Solar Impulse Email: press@solarimpulse.com Alexandra Gindroz | +41 58 219 24 40 | +1 408 609 0034 Alenka Zibetto | +41 58 219 25 37 | +41 79 415 82 84 About Solar Impulse Swiss pioneers Dr Bertrand Piccard (Chairman) and André Borschberg (CEO) are the founders, pilots and the driving force behind Solar Impulse, the first airplane that can fly day and night without fuel. Solar Impulse is a unique adventure that aims to bring emotions back at the heart of scientific exploration, a flying laboratory to find innovative technological solutions for today's challenges and a vision to inspire each of us to be pioneers in our everyday lives. This revolutionary carbon fibre airplane has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 (63.4m / 208 ft) and the weight of a small car (1,600kg / 3,527 lb). It is the result of seven years of intense work, calculations, simulations and tests by a team of about 80 people and 100 partners and advisors. A plane so big and light has never been built before. The 12,000 solar cells built into the wing provide four 10HP electric motors with renewable energy. By day the solar cells recharge the 400kg / 881 lb lithium batteries which allow the plane to fly at night. Notes to the editor MOBILE HANGAR FACT SHEET   Total Length: 289 ft. / 88 m Total Weight: 7716 lb. ( 0.5lb per sq. ft. ground surface) 3'500 kg (2kg per m2 ground surface) Number of modules composing the structure: 12 Height of modules covering the wing: 28 ft. / 8.5 m Height of modules covering the tail: 36 ft. / 11 m Maximum width: 105 ft. / 32 m Number of people to deploy: 12 Number of deployment hours: 6 Designed to resist wind speed of: 60 miles/h 100km/h BACKGROUND INFORMATION What An innovative concept: an inflatable hangar conceived and designed by the Solar Impulse team to shelter the aircraft at stopovers along the circumnavigation of the globe in 2015. The textile chosen to build the hangar, although very resistant, is also thin enough to be translucent. This allows sunlight to shine through to charge the solar airplane's batteries. Significant research was invested in the concept to ensure high versatility, low weight, high resistance and easy transportation. Each module is a separate entity. How It took several years of research and analysis to find the appropriate material and the most efficient design to fit Solar Impulse project specificities. Thanks to direct collaboration and key support from Solar Impulse Main Partner Solvay, the mobile hangar is being used today. The first wind resistance tests were conducted in 2011 with the first prototype and the first time the aircraft was integrated into the structure was in early 2013. The first time the inflatable mobile hangar was deployed in real time mission conditions was at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in June 2013. Why Early on in the project the team identified a need for a very flexible solution to shelter the aircraft anywhere in the world with rapid deployment. The light weight of the aircraft requires appropriate protection from adverse weather conditions at all times, a requirement that would be difficult to satisfy at every airport along the 2015 around-the-world flight itinerary.