IT'LL NEVER FLY, ORVILLE:

First Solar-Powered Airplane Takes Flight (Ilya Rzhevskiy, 12/12/09, Epoch Times)

The organization responsible for this short, but completely sun-powered journey is The Solar Impulse Project. Their goal is to make solar energy powered planes a reality.

The Solar Impulse begins its take-off run. (solarimpulse.com)
“For over 10 years now, I have dreamt of a solar aircraft capable of flying day and night without fuel. Today, our plane took off and was airborne for the first time,” said Bertrand Piccard, founder of Solar Impulse, in a statement.

Markus Scherdel, the pilot for this landmark event, explained that the flight on Dec. 5 was merely a test run—an opportunity to get a feel for the new plane.

The next step of the project is set for summer 2010, when Solar Impulse plans to attempt a 36 hour non-stop flight. However, the ultimate goal of the project set for 2012 is to circumnavigate the globe in a virtually non-stop flight that could take up to 25 days.