First solar flight

On April 7, 2010, just before 10.30am Solar Impulse took off for the first time from Payerne. It’s the first aircraft designed to fly night and day without fuel and polluting emissions. The carbon fibre plane has a wingspan comparable to an Airbus A340. 12,000 solar cells are built into its wings to power four electric engines and to charge batteries to enable flying at night. The flight lasted around one hour thirty minutes. (TSR/swissinfo.ch)