A solar-powered plane that has been built to fly around the world took to the skies yesterday on an historic 90-minute flight using not one ounce of fuel
A solar-powered plane that has been built to fly around the world took to the skies yesterday on an historic 90-minute flight using not one ounce of fuel
|
|
Flying high: The test flight of the aircraft was successful yesterday. Pic/AFP |
Four propellers lifted the massive Solar Impulse off the ground at a maximum speed of 28 mph on the runway at a Swiss military airport.
The test flight by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard's team was to see if the plane, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and the weight of a small car, could keep a straight path.u00a0 Test pilot Markus Scherdel took the prototype plane to 3,280 feet before descending at a snail's pace and touching down smoothly.
Piccard, who in 1999 co-piloted the first nonstop round-the-globe balloon flight with Sir Richard Branson, said, "To fly without fuel, we have to make it fly in line. There might be things that go wrong -- maybe a technical problem, engine failure or a part breakdown."
Night flight The 70 million pound (Rs 311 crore) project has been conducting 'flea-hop tests' since December, taking the plane no higher than 2 ft in altitude and 1,000 ft in distance. A night flight is planned later this year. Using almost 12,000 solar cells, rechargeable lithium batteries and four electric motors, Piccard and co-pilot Andre Borschberg plan to take the plane around the world in 2012. The trip will be split up into five stages -- keeping the plane in the air for up to five days at a time.
