First Solar-Powered Plane Flight Planned

Friday, 29 March 2013 | by Pat's Picks

They’re like the Wright brothers 2.0.  Bertrand Piccard (can we call him Captain?) and Andre Borschberg are getting ready to fly their solar-powered plane across the country, a journey that’s slated to take about two months to complete. The plane isn’t really that slow—it’s designed to fly all day and all night without fuel—but the pilots have planned stops across the county to show off their lightweight invention—so lightweight that it sometimes flies backwards. The plane has about the same power as a motor scooter, with four engines that generate about 10 horsepower each.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News