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Take the challengeIt’s happened. It is officially possible to fly a solar powered aircraft around the world, and The Solar Impulse 2 has just proved it.
Pilot Andrew Borschberg has flown the first ever sun-powered plane across the Pacific ocean from Japan to Hawaii in just 120 hours.
That's five days in the air non-stop with no fuel.
Yes, you read that right – no fuel.
And we thought solar powered race cars were cool!
This sun-powered wonder machine has been on its round-the-world journey since March 9, where it took off from Abu Dhabi and has been piloted alternatively by Borschberg and fellow explorer Bertrand Piccard.
Borschberg took off from Nagoya, Japan on Monday and has successfully wow-ed solar skeptics and believers alike, breaking the record of the longest non-stop flight, ever! American adventurer Steve Fossett previously held the record, having flown 76 hours straight in 2006 - and that was in a fuelled aircraft!
Add an extra thirty odd hours on top of that and minus the dirty energy - the Solar Impulse 2 makes Fossett's incredible triumph look puny!
However, the journey hasn't been easy - It took twelve years of designing and much trial and error. Peter Frei is Head of conceptual design and aerodynamics on The Solar Impulse 2 and has labelled this a historic moment in history.
"Andre, what you did is unbelievable. I can't even imagine what it takes to be five days up there, with so little sleep and such a complex and crippled aircraft."- Peter Frei
Peter Frei and his team created the Solar Impulse to show the numerous possibilities that solar energy has, and to encourage Governments to use clean energy.
"Our airplane has not been built to carry passengers but to convey a message."- Bertrand Piccard
The next leg of the flight will be from Honolulu to Phoenix Arizona, and then return to Abu Dhabi.
A complete round the world flight fuelled by solar power!
We can't wait for it to complete its trip!
Read more on cool solar powered inventions.
What you can do
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Householders, small businesses, schools and other sites investing in rooftop solar panels to generate clean energy from the sun deserve admiration and can cut over 1 tonne per annum for every 1kW of installed solar capacity (when replacing electricity generated from coal).
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