'Solar Impulse' - The Solar Powered Airplane To Fly Across Continents Next Week

The Solar Impulse, a Swiss experimental aircraft powered by solar energy took off from Payerne, Switzerland on Thursday and is expected to complete its maiden transcontinental flight (via a scheduled pilot change in Spain) by landing in the Moroccan city of Rabat next week. This 10 year long mission to successfully create a solar driven airplane capable of flying across the world initiated in 2003 and is expected to have cost around $115 million to its sponsors, which include Belgian chemical and plastic manufacturer Solvay SA, Deutsche Bank , Schindler Holding AG and the Swiss watch brand, Omega.

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Piloting this lightweight aircraft in its first leg to Madrid is Andre Borschberg, who’ll then make way for Bertrand Piccard over the three day pit stop in order to complete the 1,554 mile journey to North Africa. The Solar Impulse features a 207 foot long wingspan and 12,000 solar cells. The team is expected to unveil an improved model of the Solar Impulse in 2014, and finally fly around the world fuelled entirely by solar energy.

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