Solar plane prepares for flight across America

Source: Associated Press, Boston Globe

AP / March 28, 2013

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A solar-powered plane that has wowed aviation fans in Europe is preparing to fly across North America.

The Swiss creators of the Solar Impulse are announcing Thursday which U.S. cities the experimental plane will visit during its ‘‘Across America’’ tour that kicks off in May.

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will display the aircraft and discuss the cross-country trip at a news conference at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

The Solar Impulse is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover massive wings and charge its batteries, allowing it to fly day and night without jet fuel. It has the wing span of a commercial airplane but the weight of the average family car, making it vulnerable to bad weather.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/2013/03/28/solar-plane-prepares-for-flight-across-america/jdxjZGoJ7gAlUcolkXQI2N/story.html

---

The trip has been in the works for a long time. The LBN part is that the route is being announced today.

Swiss Solar Aircraft Plans U.S. Trip With New York, D.C. Stops

By Thomas Mulier on March 26, 2013

Solar Impulse, a plane developed in Switzerland that runs on energy from the sun, is scheduled to be flown across the U.S. from San Francisco to New York, stopping in cities including Washington.

Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the pilots and founders of the project, will announce the route on March 28 at a press conference at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, near Mountain View, California, Solar Impulse said today in an e-mailed statement. The trip will occur from May to July.