from Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain, in the early hours ofTuesday,
June 5, 2012. Thezero fuel airplane arrived in Madrid on May 25,
2012from Payerne, Switzerland,and now goes on to Rabat,Morocco on its
first transcontinental trip. The mission is described as thefinal
dress rehearsal for a round-the-world flight with a new and improved
aircraft in 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli)
Pilot Bertrand Piccard is helped fit inside the experimental
solar-powered airplane HB-SIA at Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain,
Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The zero fuelairplane arrived in Madrid on May
25, 2012 from Payerne, Switzerland, and now goes on to Rabat, Morocco
on its first transcontinental trip. The mission is described as
thefinal dress rehearsal for a round-the-world flight with a new and
improved aircraft in 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli)
Crew members of an experimental solar-powered airplane check the jumbo
jet-size Solar Impulse plane before taking off at Barajas airport in
Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, June 5, 2012. Thezero fuel airplane arrived in
Madrid on May 25, 2012from Payerne, Switzerland,and now goes on to
Rabat,Morocco on its first transcontinental trip. The mission is
described as thefinal dress rehearsal for a round-the-world flight
with a new and improved aircraft in 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli)
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA experimental aircraft is pulled out a hanger
at Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The
solar-powered airplane arrived in Madrid on May 25, 2012 from Payerne,
Switzerland, and now goes on to Rabat, Morocco on its first
transcontinental trip. The mission is described as thefinal dress
rehearsal for a round-the-world flight with a new and improved
aircraft in 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli)
Crew members of Solar Impulse project check the HB-SIA experimental
aircraft before taking off at Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain,
Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The solar-powered airplane arrived in Madrid on
May 25, 2012from Payerne, Switzerland,and now goes on to Rabat,Morocco
on its first transcontinental trip. The mission is described as
thefinal dress rehearsal for a round-the-world flight with a new and
improved aircraft in 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli)
An experimental solar-powered plane landed in Morocco's capital late
Tuesday after a 20-hour trip from Madrid in the first transcontinental
journey by a craft of its type.
With the wing span of a Boeing 777, the plane appeared out of the
pitch darkness over the runway,suddenly turning on its lights and
gliding to a landing in Rabat, its four propellers already still.
"It was perhaps the most beautiful flight of my life, Ihave dreamed
since I was a child of flying without using fuel," said pilot Bertrand
Piccard, who has already circumnavigated the world by balloon.
The single-seat aircraft is fitted with 12,000 solar cells across its
immense wings and but only weighs just as much as theaverage family
car, according to organizers.
The plane is the first of its kind to fly both during thenight and day
as the solar panels charge the batteries for night flying.
Piccard descended from the plane, apparently unfatigued by the long
flight in the cramped cockpit. He said the Solar Impulse project had
chosen Morocco because of its ambitious plans to increase its reliance
on solar power.
"We came here out of admiration for Morocco's pioneering solar energy
program," he said, flashinga brilliant smile and hugging members of
his team on the tarmac. "All ofthe technology on this plane can be
used in daily life."
Morocco is set to begin construction on a huge solar energy farm in
the south as part of an ambitious project to lessen its dependence on
fossil fuels and produce 2,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2020.
It also plans to eventually export the energy to Europe.
Solar Impulse arrived in Madrid from Switzerland in late May on the
first leg of the journey, but the delicate craft was delayed for
several days by bad weather before it could continue its journey to
Morocco. The two-leg Europe to Africa trip covered 2,500 kilometers
(1,554 miles).
The light craft can only fly in perfect weather. The plane has managed
to climb to 28,000 feet (8,535 meters) and reached top speeds of over
75 mph (120 kph), though its usual cruising speed is just over half
that.
The mission is being described as a final dress rehearsal for a
round-the-world flight with a new and improved plane in 2014 involving
five stops.
The project began in 2003and is estimated to cost about $100 million
over 10 years.