Solar Impulse lands in Phoenix

Swiss pilot Bertrand Picard, the pilot of the Solar Impulse plane, whose engine is powered solely by the energy of the sun, landed in Phoenix, California. Arizona. Picard is trying to cross the United States for the first time in history on such an aircraft.

The Solar Impulse flight began in northern California. The journey to Phoenix took about 20 hours, the plane was moving at an average speed of 49 km per hour.

Picard and the copilot Andre Borschberg plans that the next stops will be made in the cities of Dallas, St. Louis and Washington. The flight will end in New York.

Solar Impulse (official name of the HB-SIA prototype) - a European project to create an aircraft that uses only solar energy (solar panels). The world's first manned aircraft capable of flying at the expense of the Sun's energy indefinitely, storing energy in batteries and gaining altitude during the day.

The wingspan of the Solar Impulse is the same as that of a Boeing 747 passenger airliner, but the "solar plane" weighs like a small passenger car. Solar panels are installed on the wings. Electricity is stored by batteries, due to which the aircraft can fly not only during the day, but also at night.

Only one person can fit in the cabin of the aircraft. The maximum flight speed is about 70 km per hour.