The solar plane project that started in 2003, a brainchild of Bertrand Piccard, the first person who completed a non-stop balloon flight around the world, succeeded in its first day and night flight.
The aircraft spent 26 hours in the air over Switzerland reaching a height of around 28,000 feet before landing at Paverne, Switzerland. It was powered by 12000 solar cells plus the solar powered lithium batteries. The batteries kept charging during the day, which helped provide the power to the aircraft during the night.
After completing the 26-hour test journey on non-fossil fuels, the long winged aircraft, Named Solar Impulse, has given a certain boost to the alternative energy supporting community. As per the statement released by Piccard, the tremendous success of this effort will definitely help the world in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels.
Piloted by a former Swiss air force fighter pilot and flying at a top speed of 78 miles per hour, it was the longest test flight ever of a piloted, solar powered aircraft, and a project team member stated that they proved more than they had hoped with this successful flight.
In my opinion great people like Bertrand Piccard never sit on their laurels; they keep exploring the strength of technology and brain to achieve newer heights, one after the other. Otherwise, he would have sat idle after getting worldwide acclamations for his successful non-stop balloon flight.
