Like many large companies, Omega spends a certain amount of money each year on endeavours meant to give back to the public. The motive for doing this is surely a mixture of self-interest (promoting and portraying the company in a positive light) and genuine concern for public welfare. Examples of these endeavours include the Planet Ocean and Good Planet initiatives, the Orbis airborne surgical hospital, and the Solar Impulse aircraft. I've been watching the progress of the Solar Impulse 2 around-the-world flight since this flight began in March last year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse#Circumnavigation_flight_.282015.E2.80.9316.29 The last leg completed was the record-setting flight from Japan to Hawaii in June/July last year. On this leg, the main storage batteries were fried beyond repair, so the plane has been parked in Hawaii while the batteries are replaced and atmospheric conditions become favourable for the Hawaii-Arizona flight. It looks as though the plane may be ready to continue the journey in the coming days. Here's a short video posted by the Solar Impulse team yesterday, showing what's been going on the last few months in Hawaii.
Here's some summary footage of Solar Impulse 2's recent flight from Hawaii to Silicon Valley, including a Prince and a famous bridge.
I opened this thread expecting to see Omega's current financial success highlighted in some manner, silently correcting the title in my mind to "Omega Doing Well" even as the page loaded (as I often do). What a pleasant surprise to find they really are doing good!
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft took off early this morning from Moffett Field in the heart of Silicon Valley, California, bound for Phoenix, Arizona. This leg of the 'round-the-world flight is expected to have a duration of about 16 hours. Here's a link to local news report on this morning's take-off http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...From-Moffett-Field-For-Phoenix-377790391.html Here's a link to a live stream that includes a map plot of the aircraft's progress, flight telemetry, and video from the cockpit and from the flight control centre in Monaco: http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-10-from-San_Francisco-to-Phoenix
42,000km of flying powered only by the Sun, nineteen new aviation records set. Congratulations to the Solar Impulse 2 team! © OMEGA Ltd