The Solar Impulse will continue its journey from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport June 3 to St. Louis despite a hangar at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport that was damaged last week when several tornadoes touched down in the area.
The solar-powered aircraft is scheduled to arrive after midnight on June 4 and will be housed in an inflatable structure for the first time. Organizers decided on this option because difficult weather conditions in the region leave only a few flight possibilities between Dallas/Fort Worth and St. Louis, which could have compromised the entire flight across America.
St. Louis was chosen as the Midwest stopover to pay homage to the city’s aviation legacy, which includes aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis, the first airplane to fly from New York to Paris nonstop. After St. Louis, pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will continue to alternately pilot the solar airplane to reach Washington, D.C., and New York City. The flight is being streamed live on the Solar Impulse website. It also can be followed via Facebook and Twitter.
