Solar Impulse Lands in Phoenix after Completing First Leg of US Trip

Created by Swiss inventors Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, solar-powered plane Solar Impulse landed in Phoenix Saturday after completing the first leg of its trip across the United States.

Co-pilots Piccard and Borschberg refer to this as a milestone in aviation history. The Solar Impulse, which is regarded as the world's most advanced sun-powered plane, took off Friday at 6.00 a.m. from Moffett Field in San Francisco, California, and landed Saturday 12.30 a.m. at the Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport without using a drop of fuel. This day and night flight lasted for more than 26 hours.

The plane is designed in such a manner that it can fly at an average of 43 mph only. Weighing around 1.6 tonnes, this single-seater plane has a wingspan of the Boeing 747 and plenty of space for the aircraft's 12,000 solar cells that cover the wings and charge the batteries, reports Nature World News.

Unlike the other solar-powered aircrafts, the Solar Impulse plane can fly at night. It was visible in the first stage of its journey where it flew in the dark sky for several hours, and this is possible because solar cells present in the plane power its electric motors while simultaneously charging the batteries. Because of its light weight and wingspan, Solar Impulse is able to conserve energy. One limitation, however, is that it cannot fly in extreme climatic conditions such as fog, rain, heavy wind or thick clouds.

"If an airplane can fly day or night with no fuel, just on the sun's power, of course it means that everybody in daily life can use this technology for his house, for heating and cooling systems, for lighting, for cars, for trucks. There's so much we can do now to have a cleaner future," Piccard was quoted as saying in Washington Post.

Watch the amazing landing of Solar Impulse HERE.