An experimental solar-powered plane whose makers hope to one day circle the globe using only energy collected from the sun took off for its first 24-hour test flight on Wednesday. The plane with its 262.5-foot wingspan left Payerne airfield in Switzerland shortly before 7 am after overcoming an equipment problem that delayed a previous attempt, the Solar Impulse team said.
Clear blue skies mean the prototype aircraft will be able to soak up plenty of solar energy as it flies over the Jura mountains to the west of the Swiss Alps.
By midmorning pilot Andre Borschberg was cruising at 9,850 feet, trying to avoid low-level turbulence and thermal winds that are frequent in the mountains.
He will take the plane to an altitude of 27,900 feet by Wednesday evening, when a decision will be made whether to continue through the night using solar power stored in its batteries.
“The goal of the project is to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel,” said team co-founder Bertrand Piccard, adding that this test flight — the third major step after its first “flea hop” and an extended flight earlier this year — will demonstrate whether the ultimate plan is feasible: to fly the plane around the world.
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£10,000 for Northumbria gunman info
Age Correspondent
London
July 7: The British police has offered a £10,000-reward for information on suspected armed killer who has been on the run after he shot and critically injured his former girlfriend and murdered her new partner. He also shot and injured a police officer on Saturday.
The hunt comes after a shooting spree in June in which gunman Derrick Bird killed 12 people in Cumbria. The two shooting sprees, the current situation in Northumbria and in Cumbria last month, have led to questions about gun laws in Britain.
The Northumbria police is searching for 37-year-old Raoul Thomas Moat, the suspected killer, in the area around Rothbury in Northumberland. He critically injured his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, murdered her new boyfriend and shot and wounded police officer David Rathband.