Solar Powered Flight Success

“An aircraft fueled by the sun has accomplished its first ever manned night flight,” reports the New Scientist. The Swiss aircraft broke several records for a piloted solar flight. “The craft took off at 6:51 local time yesterday morning from the Payerne airbase in Switzerland. André Borschberg, one of the cofounders of the project and the craft’s sole pilot, guided its gradual ascent during the day. Its power was collected by 12,000 solar panels built into its 63-metre wingspan. During the hours of bright sun, batteries siphoned off some energy to power the plane through the night.”