Tuesday 10 March 2015

Solar plane takes off for around-the-world trip

A record-breaking attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane has got under way.

Called Solar Impulse-2, the aircraft took off from Abu Dhabi to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman yesterday.

Piloted by Swiss co-founder and CEO André Borschberg, the zero-fuel, single-seater airplane landed in Oman after around 12 hours, covering 400 kilometres.

He will share the pilot duties in due course with fellow Swiss, Bertrand Piccard.

The new model has a wingspan of 72 metres - which is wider than a 747 jumbo jet - but weighs only 2.3 tonnes and includes 17,000 solar panels.

The aircraft will head to Ahmedabad in India, following which the Solar Impluse team will prepare the plane and pilot in Varanasi.