First sun-powered transcontinental flight attempt

by Agis F.

The Solar Impulse aircraft takes off at Payerne airport for a flight from Switzerland to Morocco. Piloted by Andre Borschberg, after a flight lasting approximately 17 hours, the HB-SIA prototype has landed in Madrid-Barajas airport at 01:28:50. Image credit Solar Impulse

André Borschberg, made his way out of the cockpit, smiley yet exhausted and certainly happy to stretch his legs.

Images credit Solar Impulse

“The flight went very well and thanks to the team of meteorologists, everything went according to the plan: it was extraordinary. It was incredible to fly alongside the barrier of clouds during most of the flight and not need to hesitate to fly above them. This confirms our confidence in the capacity of solar energy even further” said André.

This intercontinental 1,554 miles flight, is a part of preparation for a 2014 round-the-world flight.