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![The Solar Impulse]()
The first Solar Impulse prototype, the HB-SIA, took a test flight at the military airport in Payerne, Switzerland on Monday, May 24, 2010. This solar powered plane only seats one passenger, travels at about 43mph and can stay in the air for up to 36 hours.![Solar Impulse CEO Andre Borschberg]()
CEO of the Solar Impulse project, Andre Borschberg, took his first flight in the aircraft, safely landing after about one hour of flying. Borshberg has been working on the Solar Impulse for over seven years and is planning to unveil the Solar Impulse's second prototype sometime in 2011.![Pilot and CEO]()
Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard also took a turn flying the aircraft. Piccard, who was the first person to fly around the world in a hot-air balloon, plans to be a part of the Solar Impulse's circumnavigation.![HB-SIA prototype]()
As the sun comes up, the ground crew of the Solar Impulse gets the HB-SIA prototype ready for its fifth test flight which went off without a hitch.![Solar Impulse in flight]()
There was no turbulence on this flight as the Solar Impulse made a couple of taxi runs only a few hundred feet off the ground.Switzerland Solar Adventure
Who needs a solar powered car when you can get around in a solar powered plane? For now however, the Swiss-designed Solar Impulse has only one destination in mind: A trip around the world.
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- Switzerland Solar Adventure
