Solar plane to make first cross continent flight

Bern, Switzerland: The world's largest solar-powered plane, Swiss-made Solar Impulse, will make its first ever cross-continent flight in May or June.

The plane, co-piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, will attempt for the first time to fly more than 2,500 km, taking off in Payerne in western Switzerland, crossing the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean without using fuel, and landing in Morocco.

The exact date for taking off will be decided according to weather condition, said Andre Borschberg, co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse that made the aircraft.

Bertrand Piccard and Borschberg will take turns to fly the aircraft on its 48-hour journey, with a scheduled stopover near Madrid to change pilots.

This long-duration flight will serve as a dress rehearsal for the round-the-world flight in 2014.- IANS