Solar Impulse lands in Hawaii after 118-hour non-stop flight

The Swiss-made solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 safely lands at Kalaeloa Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, at 5:51 a.m. local time, July 3, after 118-hour non-stop flight over Pacific. [Photo / Weibo]

Solar Impulse 2 (SI2), the first solar-powered aircraft in an attempt to fly around the world, safely landed at Kalaeloa Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, at 5:51 am local time (1551 GMT), Friday after 118-hour non-stop flight over Pacific.

Swiss explorer Andre Borshberg, the pilot, finally walked out of the cockpit after remaining there waiting for one more hour upon landing.

The SI2 finished the 8,200 kilometer of non-stop solo flight from Nagoya of Japan before it landed successfully at the Kalaeloa Airport in Honolulu.

The craft reached the sky of Honolulu at 2 a.m. local time ( 1200 GMT), but due to the poor light condition of the airport at night, it had to hover in the sky for four more hours before landing at dawn.

Hawaii is the eighth leg of the plane's 35,000-kilometer journey around the world that started from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 9. It is piloted alternatively by Swiss explorers Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard.