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Solar-Powered Plane Makes Successful Maiden Flight

Posted April 09, 2010 9:01 AM

From USATODAY.com Tech - Top Stories:

At the pace of a fast bicycle, a solar-powered plane took to the skies for its maiden flight Wednesday, passing an important test on the way to a historic voyage around the world — a journey that would not use a drop of fuel. The Solar Impulse lifted off from a military airport at a speed no faster than 28 mph after briefly accelerating down the runway. It slowly gained altitude above the green-and-beige fields and eventually faded into the horizon as villagers watched from the nearest hills.

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Anonymous Hero
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#1

Re: Solar-Powered Plane Makes Successful Maiden Flight

04/09/2010 5:32 PM

Actually, the first solar powered planes were around over 100 years ago. They are called sailplanes or gliders.

However, typically a glider can only sit on the runway until something motorized gives it a pull. ;-)
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redfred
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Re: Solar-Powered Plane Makes Successful Maiden Flight

04/10/2010 6:48 PM

I noticed one isolated sentence in the article that pointed out that solar aircraft was not new. I wonder if the author found out about the Pathfinder project after writing most of the article.

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