Katarzyna Richter talks to Andre Borschberg, cofounder of Solar Impulse, entrepreneur and a pilot. Solar Impulse is the result of an alliance between two Swiss pioneers to fulfill a project deemed impossible by industry experts.
With his mission Andre has set several world records by launching an around a world flight with a prototype airplane powered solely by solar energy. On 3 July 2015, the plane completed the longest leg of its journey, from Japan to Hawaii, flying non stop for 5 days and 5 nights without a single drop of fuel.
What inspired you to start the Solar Impulse project ?
The idea came from my partner Bertrand Piccard, as he was making a trip around the world in a baloon he encountered fuel deficiency problem towards the end. That gave him an idea to fly around the world utilising renewable energy. I have been passionate about aviation since I was a kid, when I was 12 I said to myself: „ One day, its going to be me, sitting in the cockpit of an airplane“. At the same time I was thrilled with the stories of pioniers, the founders of aviation. Later on in my life I‘ve been doing two things paralel. I shared my time between being an airforce pilot and pursuing entrepreneurial endevours by starting 3 companies. When I learned about the project of flying around the world using renewable energy it really opened the door to what I had been dreaming about, which was creating something new in the field of aviation. So it was evident that I had to be part of that project. When you have a passion this strong for something you have enough strenght to face obstacles and reach your goal.
How do you cope with difficulties on your way?
Passion is the starting point. Obviously you have your goal, a plan and you fight for it, but obstacles are inevitable. When you know problems are part of your journey and you start to accept them and turning them into opportunities, that is when your approach changes and you start being curious about it. I had many situations like this, but when you accept the principle that it can lead to something even more interesting or beneficial, then you start having completly different level of energy and a positive attitute, which is exactly what you need. If you can stay positive during difficult times thats when you have a real chance to create a great opportunity.
How did you manage to keep your level of energy and stay awake conducting the 5 days/5 nights flight from Nagoya to Hawaii?
Its a combination of many things. Firstly, the preparation. I have been training for that flight. I knew that I will potentially face failures and the flight will develop not in a perfect way. Thats why I was trying to visualize what could happen, which helps you to prepare for the moment when it actually happens. Yoga practice has played an interesting role for me in this process. One thing I’ve learned from the practice is to to become observer of yourself. When facing a difficult situation you can become an observer of oneself , it helps you to dissassociate yourself from the stress.
Secondly its a part of a dream. I have been dreaming about it for 10 years, so when I went for that 5days/5 nights flight it was actually short for me. So, the way to approach it is not to come with an attitude that it will be long, but rather that it will be too short to experience everything I wanted to experience.
Solar Impulse remote team, which supports your project at all the destinations of your route has assigned yoga teacher from India, and they do practive it on a daily basis. Who was behind such innovative idea?
The idea was mine. I have been practicing yoga for 12 years. Around 10 years ago I discovered a meditation retreat in India, where I have met a yoga teacher, we became close friends and we started to discuss the opportunities revolving around our flight project. 5 years ago, together we started to build a program , which I tested in a simulator. The program involved breathing practice as well as basic yoga poses, such as backbends, hip openers and abdomen twists which I was able to conduct in a cockpit. That practice helped me a lot as after landing in Hawaii completing the 5 days/5 nights flight I didnt have any problems with fuctionaity of my muscles. It was a very consious practice, the movements were slow and precise as obviously you are inside of a cockpit, not to mention being a sole pilot there. During that time my life became extremely mindful and conscious. All activities required extreme precision, weather it was food preparation or using the toilet as liquid spilage was not an option. It all made the flight very zen-like.
What did you learn about yourself during this journey of flying an airplaine around the world without single drop of fuel?
Its not only the flight I did, its everything I went trough to make it happen. I was astonished how powerful a mental preparation can be. I was really surprised how effective it was during performing the actual flight. In some ways it opened a new world for me.
Did you have a person who guided or mentored you with the mental preparation for this journey?
I’ve done it myself. Obviously I met a lot of people who inspired me. You go trough a process where you benefit from an experience of many people. I have discussed a lot of questions with Bertrand too. Over the last 12 years I went trough so many things that helped me prepare and learn things, which I integrated into performing the flight itself. The bottom line is: you can really prepare yourself so well that you can keep a positive attitude, which makes yourself extremely strong, especially during difficult times.
Are you looking forward to completing the rest of the journey? In few months time the team will come back to Hawaii to continue Solar Impulse mission.
For me the big challenge is completed. The question was : Are we able to fly so long?, was the airplane capable of doing it? And today we know that the answer is yes. We clearly demonstrated that the future can be different. Obviously each leg has its own challenges, it may be the weather or technical issues, so you need to adapt, but fundamentally we know we can do it.
As a preparation for next sector, I will be sharing my experience with Bertrand, so he can benefit from it as he will be flying next.
Andre, thank you so much for sharing your truly inspirational experience.
It was a pleasure.