Good news for all those would-be jet setters worried about their carbon footprint: a Swiss-made solar powered airplane is showing the world the possibilities in environmentally friendly travel.
The plane, built by Solar Impulse, landed in Madrid, Spain on Saturday after a seventeen-hour flight from Morocco. It did not use even a single drop of fuel to fly the 560-mile distance. Rather, the aircraft is powered by 12,000 wing-borne solar cells. These cells not only energize the four 10-horsepower motors on the aircraft, they also charge lithium batteries to keep the bird flying all night.
This was not the plane’s first trip, but co-founder Andre Borschberg announced a new finding on its basis. “This flight has taught us even more about the aircraft, allowing us to fly through winds superior to the speed of the airplane.”
These last 560 miles bring the plane’s total to more than 2,500 miles traveled without fossil fuels, reaching heights of 25,700 feet. Stay tuned: the Solar Impulse craft will fly to Switzerland next.
Photo via Solar Impulse