First round-world solar flight stops in China

Swiss 'Solar Impulse 2' pilots Bertrand Piccard (R) and Andre Borschberg (L) talk to media before their departure from the Mandalay International airport in Myanmar, March 30,  2015. [Photo/IC]

Picard's co-pilot, the former Swiss fighter pilot André Borschberg, will fly the plane from Chongqing to Nanjing, and then the pair will cross the Pacific Ocean to the United States.

They will take turns piloting the single seater for 21,748 miles (35,000km) over 12 legs, including across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The entire journey back to Abu Dhabi, where the plane took off from on March 9, will take five months and include stops in India and the United States.