OREANDA-NEWS. April 22, 2016. The solar-powered, zero-fuel airplane, Solar Impulse 2, has taken off from Kalaeloa Airport in Hawaii this morning and is bound for Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, Calif.

This will be the ninth leg of the plane's trip as it plans to fly around the world; an endeavor that began on March 2015 in Abu Dhabi. After finishing its eighth leg in July 2015 from Japan to Hawaii -- the longest leg so far in terms of distance (5,545 miles or 8,924 km) and time (about 5 days) -- the plane had to remain in Hawaii for nine months to fix its overheated batteries.

From California the Solar Impulse 2 will then fly to New York, Europe and land back at Abu Dhabi. Given fair weather conditions, the flight to Mountain View should take about three days and is expected to land on Sunday, April 24.