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Solar-powered plane flies into history

The Solar Impulse aircraft, which flies without a drop of fuel, invites viewers around the world to virtually step into the cockpit.
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Published: June 5, 2012 at 1:33 PM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Powered by the sun, weighing as much as a car (but with the wingspan of an Airbus A340), the Solar Impulse aircraft is en route from Madrid to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

Step into the HB-SIA cockpit

The aircraft HB-SIA is piloted without fuel by Solar Impulse President Bertrand Picard, a Swiss aeronaut who made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight. The aircraft sends live updates and data so viewers around the world can fly in the passenger seat with Picard, who has even sent tweets from the air.


Picard is due to land in Rabat around 11:00 p.m. local time (6 p.m. EDT), Last year, Solar Impluse HB-SIA flew to Brussels and Paris, and the team plans to attempt and around-the-world journey in 2014.

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