By Daniela Deane | The Washington Post
An historic attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered aircraft the weight of a minivan began Monday as the plane took off from Abu Dhabi on the first leg of its record-breaking journey.
The Swiss-made, single-seat plane left Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport just as the sun was rising. The plane, incredibly light but with a wing-span longer than that of a 747 jet, runs only on solar power. Its wings carry just over 17,000 solar cells that transfer solar energy to four electrical motors that then power the plane’s propellers.
Electric bikes followed the plane, the Solar Impulse 2, as it taxied to take off, to prevent the wings from touching the runway, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.
