Solar-powered aircraft completes cross-US journey

July 07, 2013

A one-of-a-kind solar-powered aircraft completed a two-month journey across the United States at just after 11pm EDT Saturday evening (3am GMT Sunday) when it landed at New York's JFK Airport.The landing came several hours earlier than planned because of a tear that developed Saturday afternoon in the delicate wing of the aircraft. The tear didn't put the craft in immediate danger, but did prompt the flight crew to curtail the flight originally scheduled to end at 2am local time on Sunday. The early landing closed a runway at JFK, causing delays to some outgoing commercial flights, and also meant pilot André Borschberg didn't get to achieve his wish to fly around the Statue of Liberty in the plane.Solar Impulse has the wingspan of a jumbo jet but weighs about the same as a family car. Coated with solar panels, the Swiss plane flies can theoretically stay aloft indefinitely, but its 35 mile per hour cruising speed means the entire trip would take many days to complete. So, to give the pilot a break, the aircraft flew in six stages, taking off in the early morning and landing late at night.It embarked on the seven-city trip at dawn on May 3 when it soared into the sky above Silicon Valley from Moffett Field. From there, it flew to Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., from where it departed early Saturday morning.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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