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Solar-Powered Plane Making First International Flight


A solar-powered airplane was making its first international flight Friday, a 12-hour, 370-mile journey from Switzerland to Belgium.

Pilot André Borschberg left the experimental plane’s base in Payerne, Switzerland, at 8:40 a.m. local time and will pass over portions of France and Luxembourg before landing at Zaventem Airport in Brussels, according to the mission’s website, solarimpulse.com.

Last July, the plane successfully stayed aloft for 26 hours during a test flight.

Solar Impulse has a wingspan of more than 206 feet (63 meters) – the same as an Airbus A340 – and is nearly 72 feet (22 meters) long. It weighs about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kilograms) and has nearly 12,000 solar cells attached to its wings and horizontal stabilizers.

The plane is equipped with four electric engines and has a top speed of about 43 mph (70 kph).

(Source: CNN)



2 Responses

  1. Ah! The future of air travel in the world that Al Gore and his ilk envision! 12 hour flight to go 370 miles. That’s fewer than 31 miles per hour!!

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