Take off

Was the six-year wait worth it?  Test pilot Markys Scherdel seemed to think so. He recently kept the Solar Impulse, a solar-powered airplane, in the air for over an hour. It’s a big step towards the ultimate goal of flying this plane around the world planned for 2012.

With the wingspan of an Airbus A340, total solar cells numbering 12,000, weight of a mid-size car and average flying speed of 70 kilometers per hour, this electric-powered prototype won’t be breaking any land speed records. But that’s not stopping pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg from boldly going where no emissions-free vehicle has gone before.