Image
© Denis Bailbouse/Getty ImagesSolar Impulse's Chief Executive Officer and pilot Andre Borschberg fly in the solar-powered HB-SIA prototype airplane during its first successful night flight attempt at Payerne airport July 8.
A solar plane using only solar energy as its power source successfully completed a 26-hour experimental flight on Thursday.

The solar plane landed safely at Payerne Air Base in Switzerland in the early morning. The plane and its pilot were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, staff member of Solar Impulse, Lucas Chamber, wrote on the project's website.

The experimental HB-SIA plane is powered only by solar panels and has a wingspan of 207 feet, similar to that of an Airbus A340. The plane, which has the same weight of an average family car, can hold one person, the pilot.

The plane took off from Payerne Air Base on Wednesday morning for its overnight test flight with CEO and co-founder of the Solar Impulse project, André Borscherg, as the pilot.

"For seven years now, the whole team has been passionately working to achieve this first decisive step of the project," said Borschberg before takeoff.

The plane charged its battery during the daytime and used the energy collected by the solar cells to maintain flying at night.

The 26-hour voyage, in which the plane reached an altitude of 28,000 feet, is the longest and highest flight ever made by a solar plane.
The Solar Impulse project was first launched six years ago and has a team of 50 engineers and technicians as well as approximately 100 experts and advisers supporting it.

The team "believes in the force of symbols," and the solar powered plane symbolizes "a new page of aviation history with solar energy," says the project's website.

With its massive wingspan and light weight, the plane's construction and aerodynamic features have never been created before.The plane also represents new possibilities for energy conservation and the development of environmentally friendly energy sources.

"The intention of this mission is to demonstrate the potential of renewable energy and clean technologies and to promote them amongst the public," says Bertrand Piccard, initiator and Solar Impulse president, on the project's website.

Solar Impulse says that test flights with a second solar powered plane are scheduled for 2012. The plane will "retrace great firsts in the history of flight," according to the project.

Future plans for the solar planes include crossing the U.S., crossing the Atlantic ocean and making a world tour.