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It seems the shorter route (great circle) would've been via Kamchatka and Alaska.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=NKG-SFO

As you can see, flying via Hawaii is quite a detour.

They're not going for the short route, it's an endurance tour and also a small test run of their circumnavigation effort. The goal isn't just getting from A to B. Also staying near the equator gives them a better solar exposure as the sun will be directly overhead each day.

The earth tilts so the ideal location is between the Tropic of Cancer durring the Northern solstice, and Tropic of Capricorn durring the December or southern solstice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Capricorn

Also, Solar power per square meter is not the same..

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