Solar Plane Lands After 24 Hour Flight

[AeroSpace News]

The four electric motor powered plane called the Solar Impulse has successfully completed a 24 hour flight through an entire day. This is a significant milestone for the effort to be the first flight around the world powered entirely by electricity captured by photo voltaic (PV) solar panels. The PV panels capture enough energy during daylight hours to store an excess amount in batteries so the plane can continue flight in darkness.

That global flight will be conducted by another larger plane yet to be built. The Solar Impulse is a sub-scale test article. The 24 hour flight was flown by pilot by Andre Borschberg.

Unmanned aircraft have flown before through a day using a similar power arrangement but this is the first on the public record with a human aboard.