Solar-powered plane makes history
A solar airplane has made history by flying 6,500 kilometres from Japan to Hawaii. The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. Solar panels covering the plane convert the sun's rays into power. Maybe all airplanes in the future will fly using solar power. Solar Impulse 2 landed after a 118-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg tweeted about his feelings. He wrote: "Just landed in Hawaii with Solar Impulse….It's a dream coming true." The flight broke the record for the longest journey made by a solo pilot in an unfuelled plane. The previous record was 76 hours. Solar Impulse 2 is attempting to fly around the world using only solar power. It started in Abu Dhabi in March. Its next stop will be Arizona in the USA. Then it will fly to New York, before heading to Europe and then back to Abu Dhabi. The journey aims to raise awareness about climate change and renewable energy. The Solar Impulse 2 co-pilot told the USA Today newspaper that: "The most important thing isn't to make world records. It's to show what we can do with clean technologies." This is important because airplanes create around 12% of the CO2 from all sources of transportation. |