<p>The overcast sky with chances of rain could not dampen the spirits of people, particularly the school children and youngsters, who thronged in large numbers to catch a glimpse of the world's only solar-powered aircraft 'Solar Impulse-2' stationed here.<br /><br />Nearly 10,000 people visited the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport here to see the Solar Impulse (SI-2) which has made a stop-over here during its round-the-world trip.<br /><br />"As many as 10,000 people, including a large number of school and college students, today visited the SI-2 and its team in the city," said Dharmik Lay, Deputy Manager in Human Resource and Administration with Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI).<br /><br />GERMI is supporting the mission on behalf of the Gujarat government.<br />The visitors included 7,000 school and college students from remote parts of the state. Seeing the people's enthusiasm, the SI-2 team extended the time for the visitors from two hours to about five hours, said Lay.<br /><br />The visitors also included people from aeronautics and aviation sectors who wanted to understand the technological aspect of SI-2, he said.<br /><br />The plane's team briefed the visitors about the aircraft and also interacted with the children, Lay added.<br /><br />Some teenagers were seen taking 'selfies' with the SI-2 and its crew to save it as a life-long memory.</p>.<p><br />The SI-2 project team also tweeted about the people's visit at the city airport.<br />"Thousands of Indian citizens are coming to Si2 in Ahmedabad, India today! We extended the visit time!," it said on its twitter handle.<br /><br />"Schools are coming today to visit solar impulse. Great to see so many children inspired with a smile on their face," it further said.</p>.<p><br />Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, who led the flight from Muscat to Ahmedabad on Tuesday night, also tweeted saying, "India giving its voice for a clean future! Be a part of it: http://futureisclean.org ! FutureIsClean."<br /><br />The globe-trotting 'Solar Impulse 2' landed here 15 hours after it took off from Muscat.<br />Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the project co-founder and pilot of SI-2, are in the city since Tuesday and likely to stay till tomorrow before leaving for Varanasi.<br /><br />From Varanasi, the SI-2 would go to Mandalay in Myanmar as well as Chongqing and Nanjing in China and thereafter to USA, as per information available on Solar Impulse project's website.</p>
<p>The overcast sky with chances of rain could not dampen the spirits of people, particularly the school children and youngsters, who thronged in large numbers to catch a glimpse of the world's only solar-powered aircraft 'Solar Impulse-2' stationed here.<br /><br />Nearly 10,000 people visited the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport here to see the Solar Impulse (SI-2) which has made a stop-over here during its round-the-world trip.<br /><br />"As many as 10,000 people, including a large number of school and college students, today visited the SI-2 and its team in the city," said Dharmik Lay, Deputy Manager in Human Resource and Administration with Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI).<br /><br />GERMI is supporting the mission on behalf of the Gujarat government.<br />The visitors included 7,000 school and college students from remote parts of the state. Seeing the people's enthusiasm, the SI-2 team extended the time for the visitors from two hours to about five hours, said Lay.<br /><br />The visitors also included people from aeronautics and aviation sectors who wanted to understand the technological aspect of SI-2, he said.<br /><br />The plane's team briefed the visitors about the aircraft and also interacted with the children, Lay added.<br /><br />Some teenagers were seen taking 'selfies' with the SI-2 and its crew to save it as a life-long memory.</p>.<p><br />The SI-2 project team also tweeted about the people's visit at the city airport.<br />"Thousands of Indian citizens are coming to Si2 in Ahmedabad, India today! We extended the visit time!," it said on its twitter handle.<br /><br />"Schools are coming today to visit solar impulse. Great to see so many children inspired with a smile on their face," it further said.</p>.<p><br />Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, who led the flight from Muscat to Ahmedabad on Tuesday night, also tweeted saying, "India giving its voice for a clean future! Be a part of it: http://futureisclean.org ! FutureIsClean."<br /><br />The globe-trotting 'Solar Impulse 2' landed here 15 hours after it took off from Muscat.<br />Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the project co-founder and pilot of SI-2, are in the city since Tuesday and likely to stay till tomorrow before leaving for Varanasi.<br /><br />From Varanasi, the SI-2 would go to Mandalay in Myanmar as well as Chongqing and Nanjing in China and thereafter to USA, as per information available on Solar Impulse project's website.</p>