Two Pilots, One Flight, and Zero Fuel: A Message for Eternity
Two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, along with a talented team of engineers, took on the challenge of flying around the world using solar energy. In 2016, SOLAR IMPULSE 2 made history after completing a round-the-world trip powered by the sun. Piccard and Borschberg had a bigger message to convey: clean technology can achieve the impossible to fight climate change.
Two American directors, Quinn Kanaly and Noel Dockstader from Far West Film, decided to capture the journey of a lifetime. Point of No Return (2017) documented every step of the way as the two pilots set out to achieve more than just a record-breaking flight, but to inspire citizens to take concrete action for the future.
Point of No Return was screened at the 2018 DC Environmental Film Festival. We had the pleasure to welcome directors Quinn Kanaly and Noel Dockstader as well as one of the Solar Impulse pilots, André Borschberg, to the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C., to interview them about the documentary Point of No Return and Solar Impulse 2's journey.
How did you first hear about Solar Impulse and what struck you about the project that made you want to make a documentary about it?
Quinn Kanaly: We read an article on the front page of The New York Times about the project 6 months before they took off in Abu Dhabi. We said this sounds crazy, flying around with no fuel, but potentially really inspiring and an incredible adventure at a time when there aren’t that many adventures left or many places in the world left to explore. It’s truly pioneering with many story elements that we found compelling. So we decided to fly to Switzerland and meet with the pilots, see the plane and if they would interest us with their behind-the-scenes story. It’s an incredible thing to witness when you’re standing beneath the wings . . . and, of course, the pilots are charming.
Noel Dockstader: There are some things that really struck us; obviously the story seemed amazing from afar. The other thing that really caught us is sitting in with the engineers. André brought us in for a session; they were talking about flying over the ocean and the engineers were doing calculations to figure out how a thin layer of cloud cover could be the difference between having enough energy to make it through the night and continue the next day, and if not, then they would be in the water. How on the edge they were is what we found out when we came to Switzerland. It was really then that we said, “Oh wow, this is really an adventure in the classic sense of the word.” As filmmakers, you look for the stories that really have that element of the unknown. It also touched on the fact that there is this parallel with the future of the world and the uncertainties.
You started the journey with them unaware of where this was going to go. Filming it must have been a big challenge because there are so many aspects to the story. How did that process go?
Quinn: We walked out the door not really knowing how it would work out. Hoping for the best, of course, like everyone on the team. We took a unique filming approach because we are co-directors and, of course, there are the pilots and the plane flying around, but there is also the heart of the decision-making in the Mission Control Center. So we split up; I was filming predominantly in the Mission Control Center and Noel was going along with the pilots and the plane. We would be in constant communication the whole time. Texting each other saying, “Okay turn on your cameras now, something is about to happen; the weather is changing; the flight might change course.” It really was in the moment filmmaking. If the plane didn’t make it across the Pacific, it also meant that we might not have a film in the end; so we were crossing our fingers that it would work out. But that’s the beauty of it, too; it’s true pioneering and we felt compelled that we had to capture this moment in history on film.
Noel: In many ways, the film and the filmmaking became one with the adventure. You couldn’t separate the two because it draws along. You don’t know what’s coming next and we both had to go through that process of letting go and have faith in the story and in the people.
You became part of the team. You were with them throughout the journey. How did you feel when the last flight landed and you knew that the project had succeeded?
Noel: We fired off quite a few texts at that last moment. I hope we saved them.
Quinn: It was incredible. We rode the emotional roller coaster that the team rode in many ways along the way. Everyone was waiting, and we were very nervous and unsure. That final landing in Abu Dhabi was incredible, and we had become a part of the team as well. It was special to achieve something collectively together.
Noel: It was really quite surreal. Being very close to a lot of people on the team, what we felt is almost an emotion that was so strong you couldn’t let it out all at once. The other thing for Quinn and me is that that wasn’t the end of it. We had a film to make and the weight of responsibility to make something that lives up to the journey and has its place in history was the biggest challenge of our careers.
Do you have a behind-the-scenes story that you would like to share?
Noel: It’s a very honest movie. There is nothing that is really not in there that is essential to understanding what they went through. There’s been a lot about Solar Impulse on the news so in some way we were competing with that. If we just duplicate that, what’s the point of making the documentary.
Quinn: I have a little fun anecdote. I think it speaks to collaborative spirit, which I think Switzerland as a country certainly has. These engineers worked fifteen hours a day to do all the calculations of the strategy, keep the pilots alive, and keep the plane from breaking apart into pieces. On the final flight from Cairo to Abu Dhabi, one of the engineers on the team spent hours hand crocheting four leaf clovers and gave them to each of the engineers and meteorologists who are Swiss, Belgian, German, and from all over the world, and they all put them on their lapels of their shirts for the final flight. It was a really beautiful touching moment to see how much they care for each other. It’s not just two pilots getting around the world, they had an amazing team behind them who are just as devoted and caring about the success; the meaning behind it as well, in terms of communicating this message to the world, about how we can have a cleaner and a more sustainable future.
In your eyes, what is the key message that this movie brings to its audience?
Quinn: The key message of the film is a can-do message. We all can do something to make the world a better place. Of course that applies to the huge environmental crisis that we face, and the take-away is about collaboration and perseverance. This was something difficult that these pilots set out to accomplish and many in the aviation industry said it was not worth pursuing, and they kept after it and brought together a coalition of people to support it. And they did it.
Noel: I think there’s two quotes that come to mind. One of them is from André at the end of the film as he was reminiscing just before the plane landed to complete it. He was standing in the same spot where he took off a year and a half before, and he remembered the feeling at that time was that they didn’t have everything sorted out. But in their hearts, they knew they were going to have to figure it out. I remember what André said, “Just go and start.” That is really a metaphor for looking at the world and into the future and the challenges that we face; maybe one of the problems is that we are waiting until we know everything before we start. And the other quote is from Bertrand during the speech he gave after they landed. We used that as he approached the landing to complete the mutual dream between the two pilots of 14 years at that point. He said, “If you look at the state of the world and the direction we would head in, it would be a crime not to try to do something.” And I think Quinn and I in our hearts believe that. That’s why we are making the film.
During the journey, were you in touch with any of the Swiss representations?
Noel: I was going to say I wanted to thank you because everywhere we went, there was somebody from a Swiss Embassy. They always introduced themselves, asked if we needed help and took personal interest in the film. We have a lot to thank the Swiss Embassies for personal assistance and from a filmmaking point of view.
Quinn: And from a logistical point of view, in terms of getting the permissions with the governments, it was instrumental to the success of the project.
Were you aware that Switzerland was such an innovative and environmentally friendly country?
Quinn: Yes, it has that reputation; good job, you guys! Of course, there is this iconic Swiss watch precision, engineering and technically being very advanced. Certainly I traveled through Switzerland when I was 21, and you are blown away by the beauty but also the kind of care that is taken with the protection of the environment and protected spaces. Certainly the commitment to this project emphasizes that the Swiss government was really behind Solar Impulse and that really deepens the understanding for me.
Noel: As André said, “It’s a Swiss watch the size of a Boeing 747.”
Do you have any future projects coming up?
Noel: We do, we are quite busy right now with all the film festivals. In the long halls, we had the chance to talk things through, and we can’t talk about them yet. But it’s funny how a project like this (Solar Impulse) is so intense that it gets you thinking about a lot of other things. The best ideas usually come when you are in the heat of making a film, because creatively you are kind of electrified by what you are doing.
Special Guest: André Borschberg
What project(s) are you currently working on?
The flight is over, but Solar Impulse is starting. The goal is to present the political world with a thousand projects which make money in the field of clean technology. We talk so much about the problem of climate change and not enough about the solution. And sure the solution exists. It’s not a question of saving the planet, it’s the opportunity to be able to develop new products, new industries through these different technologies and solutions. So that is one part of it and the other part of it is to continue developing new technologies. Fifteen years ago, electric propulsion in the world of aviation was perceived to be anecdotal, and today there is a big understanding in the world of aviation that it will be a disrupting technology. And why? Just remember seeing these small drones flying with cameras underneath, if you watch them they are extremely stable, even in windy conditions and turbulence, it’s more stable than an expensive helicopter. Because the electric motor is very easy to control and reacts immediately so it can be used to stabilize and control airplanes and not only to propel the airplane. This allows us to come up with completely new designs and the best example potentially is so-called flying cars. Nothing to do with cars because they don’t drive on the road, but they could be used for urban transportation; that is why people talk about flying cars. So something which could take over that could fly like an airplane with wings and bring you to the other side of the city without much or very little noise, clean, very safe and affordable, at the cost of the car. So all the criticism we make in the world of aviation in some ways can be addressed with these technologies. As we have the most experience in flight with electric propulsion, we decided to continue developing these solutions. We don’t design airplanes, but we develop safe, certified, electric propulsion solutions. So we continue to develop already existing airplanes and new concepts.
Where is the Solar Impulse plane now?
It will either go to a museum or be used for a research project in order to develop solar platforms which could be used to take over part of what the satellites are doing. So you can put this somewhere flying for 2 weeks or 1 month, for example, as they get the energy every day, to do observation, measurements, analytics and then bring it down. It is a project that can be reused.
