Solar plane completes first transcontinental flight sans fuel

What a nice project. Reading

A plane powered entirely by solar energy has successfully completed a flight from Spain to Morocco, the second leg of its journey, as it prepares for a trip around the world. Solar Impulse in flight. (© Solar Impulse) The carbon-fiber plane’s wingspan is about the size of an Airbus A340, yet it weighs only as much as a car. It’s powered by 12,000 solar cells which, altogether, turn four electrical motors. Solar cells and carbon structure of the Solar Impulse’s wing. (© Solar Impulse) This has been a long time coming — the project was first founded by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg in 2003. It is estimated to have cost about $100 million to create. Today, it is supported by a handful of major corporations, including Deutsche Bank, Bayer, and Schindler. The flight The single-seat carrier was piloted by Piccard (Borschberg flew the plane’s last leg, which went from Swi...

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