WASHINGTON: An airplane entirely powered by the sun landed in Washington on Sunday, reports US Media.
Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard said after landing that wingspan of a jumbo jet and the weight of a small car, the Solar Impulse is a test model for a more advanced aircraft the team plans to build to fly around the world in 2015. The plane completed the first leg of the journey from San Francisco to Phoenix in early May and flew later that month from Phoenix to Dallas.
The project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros ($112 million). It has involved engineers from Swiss escalator maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay. The plane made its first intercontinental flight, from Spain to Morocco, in June 2012.
