Solar Impulse Airplane Endeavor's World’s First Intercontinental Flight

Bernard Piccard, 54-year-old psychiatrist and balloonist, is all geared up for theÂ first solar powered intercontinental flight from Europe to Africa on his Solar Impuse Plane which is huge as anÂ Airbus A340 but lighter than a regular car. Having 12,000 solar cells to power four electrical motors, he'll set off at 0330 GMT from Madrid-Barajas airportÂ and steer the plane to an altitude of 11,800 feet. Throughout the journey, spanning through Seville (South Spain),Â Gibraltar Strait, Tangiers and finallyÂ Rabat-Sale,Â his plane shall not sip a single drop of fuel. Every single motor on the carbon fibre plane charges 400kg (880lbs) Li-Po batteries throughout the day, enabling the flight to continue even after dusk.

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Piccard, known for piloting the world's first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight in 1999 along with with Briton Brian Jones, assumes control over the operations from project co-founder Andre Borschberg, a 59-year-old Swiss executive and pilot.Â Borschberg travelled the first leg from Payerne in Switzerland, landing in Madrid on May 25.

Organizers stated that the 1,550 miles trip is scheduled in such a way that it coincides with theÂ commencementÂ of theÂ construction on the biggest ever solar thermal plant in Morocco's southern Ouarzazate region.Â This trip is also suposed to be a rehearsal for the plane's round-the-world flight planned for 2014.