Solar-Powered Aircraft's First Flight

Solar Impulse 2 Solar-Powered Aircraft First Flight - Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft project led by Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted the first balloon to circle the world non-stop, and Swiss businessman André Borschberg. The project hopes to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power. Wingspan: 72m. Weight: 2.3 tons. Cockpit size: 3.8 m3. Number of solar cells: 17,248. Thickness of solar cells: 135 microns. Batteries: 4 x 260 Wh/kg.Maximum cruising altitude: 8,500m. Speed : 36-140 km/h, depending on altitude. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse