00:41UAE: Airplane set to make world voyage using solar panels
Solar powered airplane 'Solar Impulse 2' took off for a test-spin on Monday in the skies of Abu Dhabi in preparation for an around-the-world trip on March 7.
The plane, which has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 but weighing no more than a car, will depart on March 7 from Abu Dhabi on a journey around the world. Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are set to take turns piloting the single-seat, 2,300-kilogram (5000 pound) aeroplane on the journey that will last around five months and include some 500 hours of flying.
Made from of a lightweight carbon fibre frame, the Solar Impulse 2 carries zero fuel and produces no carbon emissions, powered entirely from the 17,000 solar cells embedded in its wings spanning 72 meters.
00:41Solar powered airplane 'Solar Impulse 2' took off for a test-spin on Monday in the skies of Abu Dhabi in preparation for an around-the-world trip on March 7.
The plane, which has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 but weighing no more than a car, will depart on March 7 from Abu Dhabi on a journey around the world. Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are set to take turns piloting the single-seat, 2,300-kilogram (5000 pound) aeroplane on the journey that will last around five months and include some 500 hours of flying.
Made from of a lightweight carbon fibre frame, the Solar Impulse 2 carries zero fuel and produces no carbon emissions, powered entirely from the 17,000 solar cells embedded in its wings spanning 72 meters.