Solar Impulse, an ultralight plane powered only by the sun’s rays, has landed safely in Oman after the first leg of an attempt to fly around the world without using fuel.
Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg, who launched the project, took off from Abu Dhabi and landed in Muscat after taking 13 hours over the 250-mile journey, according to the Solar Impulse Twitter feed.
Bertrand Piccard, also Swiss, will take turns flying the one-man vehicle, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but weighs no more than a family car.
Flight two is due to depart for Ahmedabad, India, tomorrow.
The plane’s 21,000-mile global route crosses India, China and the US before returning to Abu Dhabi via southern Europe or north Africa, depending on weather conditions.
Its pilots will need to fly non-stop for up to six days on oceanic legs, stuffed in a tiny cabin travelling as high as 27,000 feet at 30 to 60 miles per hour. The whole trip will probably take about five months.
On shorter flights, the pilot will go without sleep, breathing via an oxygen mask in the unpressurized aircraft.
On longer legs, he’ll nap for 20 minutes every three or four hours if the plane is above an unpopulated area.
Mr Borschberg and Mr Piccard say Solar Impulse will demonstrate the potential of renewable power and energy-efficiency measures.
The project’s sponsors include Zurich-based ABB, the world’s largest manufacturer of devices that convert solar energy into electricity, while Masdar – the renewables unit of Abu Dhabi state investment company Mubadala – is also a partner.
The Swiss government is making a special 20-franc silver coin to commemorate the flight.